One of the House Democratic casualties on Tuesday was fifteen-term congressman, Colin Peterson, MN-07. His loss was brutal, not even managing to get 40% of the vote in a district he once won with 70%. He was the casualty of the reddening of his district, and of rural American in general — an electoral phenomenon well documented in books, newspapers, magazines, and countless diaries on this site.
First elected in 1990 -- on his third try I might add — Rep. Peterson was always to the right of most Democrats. He was one of the original Blue Dogs, an often-maligned group. He was also twice the Chair of the House Ag committee, a notable position and one he was well suited for considering the ag heavy nature of his district. (That loss is already being felt.) And he was a reliable vote for Nancy Pelosi for both House Speaker and Minority Leader, something not everyone in his caucus could say.
Fargo Forum columnist Mike McFeeley, not always a fan of Peterson, nonetheless summed it up best when he said today:
It mattered not that Peterson was chairman of the powerful House Agriculture Committee, representing a district that is largely based on agriculture. It mattered not that Peterson essentially turned into a Republican the last few years, saying that Democrats should let Trump build his beloved wall along the Mexican border and voting against the president's impeachment.
The years of service, the resume, the power, the rightward tilt. None of it could save Peterson when the United States hit a point when the only thing that mattered was the party to which you belonged.
In the end, the voters deemed Peterson expendable. He was treated as nothing more than just another Democrat when his constituents decided they wanted a Republican at any cost.
In the end, Peterson was a relic from a bygone era of political nuance and bipartisanship
There are many on this site over the years who disparaged Rep. Peterson. Yes he was not a 100% Democrat, but he was still one of us. His loss should be acknowledged as, for example, he fought hard for supports for food stamps, a program that kept me from impoverishment at one point in my life.
His replacement, former state senator and lt. governor, Michelle Fischbach has stated she will be asked to be placed on the Ag Committee. If I was Speaker Pelosi, I’d say, “go stuff yourself”. As another Forum columnist noted about Fishbach this last weekend:
On the absurdity scale, Fischbach’s brag that she would “stand up” to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is laugh-out-loud stuff. Is she running against Pelosi or Peterson? Should Fischbach win (improbable) [author’s edit — oops….] Pelosi would reduce Fischbach to a petty back-bencher. You don’t have to like Pelosi to grasp that she is a tested hard-ball politician who would banish Fischbach to the House’s noisy but feeble right-wing little league.
I will hope that Rep. Peterson is offered, and strongly considers, a ag-related position in a Biden administration. He deserved better that what happened to him yesterday.