WILLMAR, Minn. — DFL Party leaders in Minnesota’s sprawling 7th Congressional District are feeling energized after watching Republicans lose seats in several special elections across the country. That, along with the low profile of Rep. Michelle Fischbach, the Republican who has represented the district since 2020, has put some wind in Democratic sails heading into the party’s April 25 convention near Granite Falls.
State Rep. Heather Keeler of Moorhead and economic developer Erik Osberg of Wadena are vying for the DFL nomination. Ballotpedia lists Jerad Adams as a third DFL candidate, though no information is available on the Federal Election Commission website or from other sources like social media.
“We’re seeing districts flip. There is a general sense that the country is headed in the wrong direction,” 7th District DFL Party chair Jen Cronin of Pipestone said. “Our chances in November in all races are very good right now. I’m extremely optimistic. We are always used to running from behind. We learned how to do that from (former Rep.) Collin Peterson.”
The 7th District covers 38 counties in western Minnesota, from the border with Canada to Pipestone, Murray and Cottonwood counties. Represented by Peterson, a moderate Democrat, from 1991 to 2021, it backed Fischbach over DFL challenger A. John Peters by a whopping 70.5%-29.5% margin in 2024 and remains a longshot for Democrats.
Still, the party sees a glimmer of hope heading into a midterm election that’s expected to favor Democrats, with President Donald Trump declining in popularity and a popular Democrat in gubernatorial candidate Amy Klobuchar at the top of the statewide ticket.
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Fischbach, meanwhile, has a challenger of her own: Dave Hughes, a retired Air Force major from Karlstad. They’ll square off at the 7th District Republican convention in Marshall, also to be held on April 25.
A changing political landscape
Fischbach first won the seat in 2020 with a 53% percent of the vote to Peterson’s 40%. His support due primarily to his expertise in agriculture wasn’t enough against Fischbach’s conservative stance on social issues such as abortion and the 2nd Amendment and her prominence as a state office holder as a former legislator and lieutenant governor.
Her hold on the district is such that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is not targeting it as one of its “districts in play” that it thinks could topple the GOP incumbent and help flip the House. The Cook Political Report rates the district as “solid Republican” and Fischbach has nearly $1 million in her campaign war chest.
Yet while the social issues remain prominent among conservative constituents, more recent economic issues and foreign affairs have changed the political landscape. Tariffs, inflation, and now the war with Iran and its impact on fuel and fertilizer costs, are competing with the social issues.
“Fertilizer is going through the roof,” Cronin said. “A lot of farmers are OK for this year because they’ve bought with their contracts. But next year, there’s so much uncertainty. I come from a farming family, and there’s a lot of worry in this area. We have had so many farm bankruptcies in the state of Minnesota, over 1,300 in the last two years. It’s really devastating for our rural economies.”
Related: Iran war hurts Minnesota farmers as fertilizer, fuel prices soar ahead of planting season
With more than 30,000 farms on nearly 15 million acres of farmland, according to USDA figures on Fischbach’s website, the district generates about $9 billion in market value of agricultural products, or nearly half that of the entire state.
Among Minnesota’s Congressional delegation, only Rep. Brad Finstad of the 1st District sits on the House Agriculture Committee while Fischbach sits on the Ways and Means Committee. Peterson was considered a farm bill expert, once quipping during a North Dakota farm show that only he and all North Dakota farmers understood the farm bill.
Related: For Minnesota farmers, it’s been a season of discontent
Lonely in the Legislature
Keeler is serving her third term in the Legislature, representing a district that includes Moorhead, the largest city in the district, and portions of Clay County. “I’m the only Democrat on the west side of the state. I’ve been serving as a voice for all of the west side, particularly in areas around food access,” she said.
Her other primary issues include health care, including mental health and birthing centers, education, elder care and human services in general. “We are really living in a birthing center desert,” she said. Of Native American heritage, she participated in the nation’s first municipal Native American commission in the Fargo-Moorhead region.
After the assassination of state Rep. Melissa Hortman in June 2025, “I made the firm decision that I was not going to be afraid of that,” Keeler said. She went to Washington, D.C., during the government shutdown and tried to meet with Fischbach about such issues as the cuts to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps.
“I tried to have bipartisan conversations with our congresswoman on how I could help her help us because I had done so much work at a state level with SNAP,” Keeler said. She was not able to meet with Fischbach, and “nobody in her staff was very interested in chatting with me.”
With the DFL convention at Prairie’s Edge Casino just days away, Keeler said, “I hope that both of us decide to abide by the endorsement,” adding, “I do think that a lot of people are feeling there could have been more opportunity to be informed. I think CD 7 unit as a whole dropped the ball a little bit on helping to inform all voters about all candidates in all races.”
Keeler announced her candidacy Nov. 13, seven months later than Osberg’s announcement March 11. As of March 31, her campaign funds totaled $50,141, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Hughes, a retired Air Force major.
Wearing many hats
Osberg worked in financial services and currently is the Rural Rebound Initiative coordinator for Otter Tail County. In that position, he co-produced a docuseries with Cory Hepola titled “Rural By Choice,” which “examines why people chose to live in rural places.” It won a regional Emmy award in 2023.
Speaking to about 50 people gathered March 22, 2025, at a restaurant in Willmar, Osberg said, “I don’t believe in governance by chaos. How do we stop talking about the distractions, and about the things that matter” and return to issues like agriculture and health care?
“We have to recognize that we’re not going to outspend our opponent, but we can outwork our opponent,” Osberg said at the March 22, 2026, town hall in Willmar. “We believe that organized people can beat corporate money. We’ve spent the last year building a digital infrastructure. Social media isn’t going to solve all of our problems, but we’ve put a ton of energy and effort into building those platforms. Attention is the new asset in politics, and this campaign is well positioned to get some attention.
In an email exchange with MinnPost, he said, “I’ve talked with former Congressman Peterson a number of times and he’s been very supportive. He has given me a lot of good advice, especially when it comes to working with farmers.”
Osberg raised $51,893 in the first quarter of 2026, bringing the campaign total to $212,306.
Fischbach plays it safe
Running a political campaign across the large, sparsely populated district limits opportunities for in-person contact. The only event of that kind with both DFL candidates occurred at a town hall March 22 in Willmar. More than 200 people attended by advance registration to hear Keeler and Osberg field questions moderated by Cronin.
With both DFL candidates coming from the northern part of the district, they are less well-known elsewhere. Reed Anfinson, publisher of newspapers in Benson, Morris and Elbow Lake, said he’s not hearing much at all from the DFL candidates except for some news releases from the Osberg campaign.
Related: Republican Michelle Fischbach wins reelection to U.S. House in Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District
“I could walk around Benson and if I talked with 100 people I bet that not one would say they have heard much about the candidates. There’s a real lack of knowledge,” Anfinson said. However, this may reflect the stage in the process where candidates are focused on campaigning for support from delegates prior to the DFL endorsing convention April 25.
Fischbach is keeping a low profile to avoid saying anything that might offend Trump and being primaried, Anfinson said. Among Democrats, he has seen more activity and energy at county fairs but wouldn’t speculate on DFL chances. “If Collin Peterson were 30 years younger he would have a good shot at regaining the seat.” Amy Klobuchar on the ballot for governor may have some pull, he said.
At Fischbach’s office in Willmar with shades closed and door locked April 10, a reporter pressed the door camera button. A man opened the door and said he was busy working with a constituent. Fox blared from a large-screen TV in the small lobby. The man gave the reporter contact information for Norann Dillon of Fischbach’s campaign staff, who later responded to e-mail questions: “The campaign has held several coffees, lunches, and receptions across the district and will continue to host these events.
“In today’s hyper-partisan climate, there will always be people looking for an angle to attack political opponents,” the email said. “The Congresswoman’s duty requires her to be in Washington, D.C., which limits opportunities for campaign events. For safety and constituent privacy reasons, the Congresswoman’s visits in the district are generally not broadcast in advance.”
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