MNSider Brief: The First Look at CD2

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August heat and haze hung over Minnesota Tuesday, the race in CD2 is becoming more clear. Two suburbanite white guys running, when women are leading the top of the ticket. That takes away a gender dynamic that helped Rep. Angie Craig.

The biggest takeaway from the turnout may not be who showed up, but where they showed up and what motivated them — particularly in the suburban battleground of CD2.

The district was essentially at tie in the DFL US Senate race, that hurt Rep. Craig in the Senate race. Michele Tafoya pulled nearly 60 percent, while Speaker Lisa Demuth dominated with 48 percent.

The Little vs. Pratt race sets up for another way to measure the mood the burbs.

The latest MNSider brief is below.

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Minnesota’s Second Congressional District race sets-up between two candidates who know the district — and each other’s political terrain — well.

Former DFL state Sen. Matt Little emerged from Tuesday’s competitive three-way DFL primary with 47.4% of the vote, overcoming millions in outside spending and defeating state Sen. Matt Klein and state Rep. Kaela Berg. He now faces Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt, who was unopposed for the GOP nomination.

The matchup creates a contest where geography may contrasts on Minnesota’s November ballot. The suburban to rural district has performed better for the DFL since redistricting, however much of that was the quality of the match-ups and the centrist nature of Rep. Angie Craig.

Little is a former Lakeville mayor and state senator who has represented the fast-growing southern suburbs that Republicans once depended on to win CD2. He now lives in New Market Township. Pratt, meanwhile, has represented the Prior Lake/Shakopee area in the Minnesota Senate and enters the race arguing that the district can return to its Republican roots.

SWING?: The fundamental question is whether CD2 is still a true swing district — or whether the suburban political realignment of the Trump era has moved it beyond Republicans’ reach.