Author: News Desk

WASHINGTON – Trouble in farm country is spelling trouble for the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress as a loyal GOP constituency faces increased financial turmoil.

Farm bankruptcies in the nation, and especially in Midwestern states like Minnesota, are on the rise and expected to continue to climb.

Economic analyses, like the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Sector Income Forecast, show why farm failures are on the rise. The USDA predicts farm income will drop by $1.2 billion this year, even with the increased revenue from the only healthy sector of the farm economy – the beef cattle industry.

The American Farm Bureau Federation determined there were 315 farm bankruptcy filings last year, 13 in Minnesota. That represents a 300% increase in farm bankruptcy filings in the state over 2024.

Farm bankruptcies continued to grow this year, with another eight filed in the state in the first quarter of this year. No other state had more.

The filings, all under Chapter 12 of the bankruptcy code, are efforts by Minnesota family farms to restructure their debt and stay in business.

Chapter 12 bankruptcy protections were established after the farm crisis of the 1980s and are available to farmers who qualify and are no more than $12 million in debt.

But the filings don’t show the entire picture of what’s happening on family farms.

“Some people don’t do anything and just let everything go,” said David McLaughlin, an attorney in Ortonville who specializes in farm bankruptcies.

McLaughlin said the costs of farming – including the price of inputs and land rents – has rapidly increased and farmers in the state are struggling to keep their heads above water. 

While McLaughlin said that the farm economy is cyclical, with historic ups and downs, he predicted the trough will get deeper before there is any relief. “I think it’s going to get far worse,” he said. “There is a bad period coming.”

Cameron Castillo, associate economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, said increased Chapter 12 filings are an indicator of “a depressed farm economy.”

“But it’s definitely not the whole story,” he added.

Some farmers suffered the seizure of land, crops and machinery from banks and other creditors. Other American farmers have stopped tilling the soil and raising livestock to sell their land to suburban and exurban developers and for the construction of data centers, Castillo said.

“Many have compared this to the dire straits the farmers were in in the 1980s,” he said.

That crisis was the result of many factors, including high interest rates, a grain embargo on the former Soviet Union, drought and other weather conditions and plummeting commodity prices.

Related content: D.C. Memo: Trump says undocumented farm workers are ‘special’

Although the number of farm bankruptcies was higher in 2020 and 2021, there are fewer farms today as the nation has lost about 200,000 in recent years, the American Farm Bureau Federation says.

Before Minnesota farmers file for Chapter 12 protection, they must, under state law, try to find an agreement with their lenders.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture said the total number of new mediation notices for the current fiscal year (October 2025-June 2026) has reached 1,429 cases. That is the highest fiscal year-to-date subtotal since 2020.

A political issue 

Lucas Sjostrom, a dairy farmer in Brooten with a herd of 180 cows, said he and other dairy farmers in the state are trying to survive the latest hard times by sending more of their herd to the slaughterhouse as beef prices have skyrocketed.

“Normally, we sell 10% or 15% as beef, but now that has tripled or quadrupled,” Sjostrom said.

Hardship on the farm has become a political issue in this election year.

Democrats, including those in Minnesota, are reminding farmers of the steps President Donald Trump has taken that have roiled U.S. agriculture.

Those would include the imposition of tariffs on countries that once purchased plenty of U.S. farm products but don’t anymore to retaliate against the U.S. levies. Tariffs also increased the cost of other farm inputs.

The war in Iran, which resulted in blocking oil and fertilizer shipments from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, was also an unexpected blow.

“It’s kind of a perfect storm,” Castillo said of the challenges facing American agriculture.

He said a survey of 5,000 farmers the American Farm Bureau Federation conducted in March showed that 70% of the respondents said they could not afford to purchase all of the fertilizer they needed.

Related content: Minnesota farmers want trade over aid, but they’d take some aid in the meantime

Jake Johnson, the Democratic candidate running to unseat Rep. Brad Finstad, R-1st District, said farmers brought up tariffs and high fuel and fertilizer prices during a recent roundtable event in Fillmore County.

“One thing was clear from the conversation: farmers are working harder than ever, but Washington keeps making their jobs more difficult,” he said in a release.

At a Senate hearing last month, Sen. Amy Klobuchar grilled Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins about the increase in farm bankruptcies in Minnesota and the nation.

“I just think those numbers don’t lie,” said Klobuchar, who is running for governor and is the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee.  

Rollins told Klobuchar the number of Chapter 12 bankruptcies in the nation in the past year, 315, represented “just .03% of the total farms in America.” But she conceded that “there’s no doubt the farm economy is facing headwinds.”

Rep. Angie Craig, D-2^nd District, who is running for the U.S. Senate, has also focused on farm bankruptcies.

“Farmers are hopeful that things will work out, because they always are, but they’re also being squeezed from all sides right now,” said Craig, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, at a press conference last week.

The event coincided with the release of a report by a political action committee known as Defend America Action on farm industry woes. The report is called “Donald Trump‘s Policies are Killing American Farmers.”

Trump has responded to the crisis in farm country by temporarily removing tariffs on fertilizer from Morocco, a nation that dominates the phosphate fertilizer market.

The president has also indicated he’d support the expansion of the H-2A visa program, which allows American farmers to bring foreign nationals to the United States for temporary or seasonal agricultural work.

Meanwhile, congressional Republicans are scrambling to find ways to help the nation’s farmers, a loyal GOP voting bloc, in an election year.

Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., has recently introduced a bill that would expand the H-2A visa program to help dairy farmers, who have historically been shut out of the program since they need year-round, not temporary, workers.

There are also bipartisan efforts to make E-15 – a gasoline that is fortified with ethanol — available in all states year round. And Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman and the White House are pushing for an additional $11 billion in emergency aid for U.S. farmers to cover losses from depressed commodity prices and severe weather.

There’s also a push by congressional Republicans to finally pass a new farm bill, which is three years overdue.

Despite concerning indicators, not everybody sees gloomy skies on the horizon. While noting that prices of corn and soybeans have decreased by roughly 40% and 30%, respectively, since 2022, economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City contend that the U.S. agricultural sector has remained relatively stable through “unprecedented changes in global trade and geopolitical turmoil.”

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WASHINGTON – Dozens of high-profile Democrats have been pressured to  take sides in the brutal political battle between Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who are both running for retiring Sen. Tina Smith’s seat.

But their support for one candidate over the other may not have a huge impact in  this ultra-competitive race, even as the endorsements are coming from powerful, well-known and influential Democrats.

For instance, Flanagan has won the endorsements of many of the standard bearers of the progressive movement, including Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

Flanagan has also won the support of the two most progressive U.S. House members from Minnesota — Reps. Betty McCollum, D-4th District; and Ilhan Omar, D-5^th District.

And Smith, whom Flanagan wants to replace, is also backing the lieutenant governor.

Meanwhile, Craig, considered more moderate than Flanagan, has been endorsed by members of the Democratic leadership, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fellow moderates like former Transportation Secretary Peter Buttigieg and former Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson.

Craig also has the backing of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and other state and local officials.

Dozens of other Democrats in the Legislature and in local elected offices have also chosen between the Craig and Flanagan camps, creating amazingly long lists of endorsements.

“I’m honored to have earned so much support from leaders who show up every day and serve their constituents with courage and compassion,” Craig said in a statement.  

But political analysts say the massive number of endorsements may not make much of a difference when primary voters go to the polls Aug. 11 because informed voters have made up their minds based on what they know of a candidate’s character and record.

There is one group of voters who could be influenced by an endorsement, however.

Studies show that if uninformed citizens can identify endorsers who share their interests, they can simply follow their recommendations instead of investing time and energy to learn about the candidates or policy issues debated in a race.

That’s why political candidates actively seek endorsements from well-known individuals and groups and strategically announce them at key moments during their campaigns.

David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University, compares political endorsements to lawn signs that proliferate in every neighborhood before an election. 

“There is minimal evidence that lawn signs really matter in changing people’s vote,” he said.

But like lawn signs, political endorsements are part of the “psychological warfare” deployed during a political campaign. “When one side is doing it, the other side feels they have to retaliate,” Schultz said.

Like the lawn signs, candidate announcements about endorsements are a reminder that an election is coming up, and that might be helpful, Schultz said.

And the endorsements may make a difference among voters who aren’t paying that much attention to the Craig-Flanagan race, he said.

“And if you can move this race by even just a percentage point, you might win the race,” Schultz said.

There is one endorsement that still matters, though. The backing of President Donald Trump is still highly valued by GOP candidates.

“The Republican Party is not divided like the Democratic Party, Schultz said. “And it’s Trump’s party.”

Progressives flex political muscle

The tsunami of endorsements won by Flanagan and Craig show the schism that is splitting the Democratic Party in this election year.

Democratic primaries this year have often been heated matches between mainstream Democrats — most of them incumbents — and progressives running as political outsiders who are angered by what they view is their party’s inability to stop President Donald Trump from imposing his initiatives.

And those progressives have flexed their political muscle.

For instance, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his allies swept a series of congressional primaries in New York City last month, defeating candidates who were backed by the city’s political establishment, including major labor unions and Speaker Jeffries.

But sometimes the backing of outsider candidates, preferably working-class political neophytes, has backfired.

That’s the case in Maine, where Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran, dropped out of a race for the U.S. Senate this week following a series of scandals that included a woman accusing him of sexual assault.

Platner’s popularity soared in large part because of his plain-spoken populism and his championing of progressive policies like universal health care and affordable housing. His candidacy was bolstered by endorsements from Sanders, Warren and other progressive politicians.

Because he had not held political office before, Platner had not undergone the media scrutiny that politicians are subjected to. And his swift climb hampered party efforts to vet him.

But Flanagan, unlike Platner, is an experienced politician who has held political office, even as she embraces some progressive values and shuns corporate funding of her campaign.  

This year’s progressive movement may help Flanagan next month when voters go to the polls. But Minnesota, as a whole, is not as liberal as New York or other states, including Colorado, where progressive candidates have secured primary victories.

 And polls continue to show that the Craig-Flanagan race is a real nailbiter.

In other news:

▪️Matthew Blake and Brian Arola wrote about hot races – in the Twin Cities suburbs as well as on the Iron Range and in Moorhead – that could decide whether the next session of the state Legislature is controlled by Republicans or Democrats.

▪️In Matt’s weekly Capitol Conversations, he predicts the issues Republicans will push if they are able to win a legislative majority in the fall elections. On the list are property tax cuts and a ban on transgender women competing in women’s sports.

▪️Andy Steiner, meanwhile, had a piece about a reprieve – at least temporarily – for Twin Cities “clubhouses” used by people with mental illness. The centers run by Vail Communities are getting state funding for another six months as well as a $500,000 donation from retired artist Corey Sauer, who has dealt with mental issues of his own.

▪️And Maddie Robinson wrote about burned out Emergency Medical Technicians in Hennepin County. The emergency responders recently voted “no confidence” in the leader of the department that oversees EMTs, citing, among other things, too few workers.

Please keep your comments, and any questions, coming. I’ll try my best to respond. Please contact me at aradelat@minnpost.com. I can be reached at aradelat@minnpost.com.

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WASHINGTON – Since early last year, Minnesota’s members of the U.S. House and their staffers have taken dozens of free trips to France, Israel, Greece, Mexico and other destinations.

A MinnPost analysis of “gift travel” filings found that both Democrats and Republicans in Minnesota’s congressional delegation have joined colleagues from all other states to take advantage of a congressional perk – trips whose every expense is paid for by special interests.

From Jan. 1, 2025, until the end of May of this year, the eight members of Minnesota’s delegation to the House and their staffers took 74 such trips.

Sometimes lawmakers and staff take free trips in an honest effort to learn more about an issue and meet people who will help them understand those issues. But often the sponsors of those trips have an agenda and providing free travel is a way for lobbyists and other special interests to gain favor with a lawmaker or an influential congressional aide.

Related: As the pandemic ebbs, Minnesota members of Congress and their staff resume ‘gift travel’

The MinnPost analysis found that Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6^th District, accepted the most gift travel. That’s likely because many trips were offered to Emmer since he holds a politically powerful position as House majority whip.

Emmer’s office did not return requests for information about the trips he accepted.

But records show Emmer and his staffers took 29 trips during the 15-month period studied. For instance, Emmer and five of his staffers traveled to Israel last August at the expense of the American Israel Education Foundation, a non-profit established by AIPAC, the nation’s leading pro-Israel lobbying group.

Emmer’s trip, alone, was valued at $30,921. The lawmaker took his wife, Jaqueline, along on the trip.

The trips Emmer’s staffers took to Israel cost less. For instance, the cost of the gift trip accepted by Dennis Nalls, who has recently left Emmer’s whip office to become a lobbyist, was $17,447.

Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-7^th District, was accompanied by her husband, Scott, on her trip to Israel. The cost of that trip, $31,542, was also paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation.

Fischbach and Rep. Pete Stauber, R-7^th District, were both on a trip to Greece hosted in April of 2025 by the Republican Main Street Partnership. That’s an organization founded to support Republican moderates that has, especially since President Donald Trump won a second term in office, shifted to the right.

The cost of sending Stauber and his wife Jodi to Athens and other points in Greece was $15,014. Fishbach’s trip was valued at about $8,000.

In her post-travel filing, Fischbach said the trip was necessary because she serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and “thus attending to the study of how U.S. funding is continuing to help the country.”

The reason Stauber took the trip was that, as a member of a panel with authority over transportation and infrastructure, he hoped “to study infrastructure preservation” in Greece, he said in a filing.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-5^th District, also took some free foreign travel last year, to Mexico City. She was accompanied by her husband Tim Mynett. The trip, which involved meetings with Mexican officials, was valued at $1,677.

“It is crucial for progressives in Congress to understand how U.S. policies are impacting people, from immigration policies to the lack of regulation of guns to tariffs,” Omar said in a statement about her trip to Mexico. “What I heard on the ground will be pivotal for me to take back to Minnesota and Washington to be a better legislator for our community.”

Omar’s trip, which included a $66 fee for a translator, was funded by the PanAmerican Exchange, Inc.  

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Even a short, one-day domestic trip can be pricey.

Stauber took two staffers with him on a trip to Kenner, La., on March 11 that was paid for by Arena Energy, an oil and gas company.

One of the staffers who accompanied Stauber on the trip was Shawn Rusterholz, a former lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute.  The total cost of the trip for the three travelers was $8,919.

The lawmaker who authorized the fewest free trips was Rep. Kelly Morrison, D-3rd District, who is a freshman Democratic  lawmaker in a chamber controlled by the GOP. 

Morrison approved a trip to Israel for one of her staffers that was paid for by the J Street Education Fund, a organization that is linked to a pro-Israel group that, unlike AIPAC, is critical of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

In the past 15 months, staffers of Minnesota’s congressional delegation have accepted free trips to France, Sweden, Ireland, Thailand, Japan, the United Kingdom, Jackson Hole, San Francisco, New Orleans and other points, near and far, paid for by special interests.  

Gift travel taken by staffers is often considered a perk for working on Capitol Hill.

Unforeseen loopholes

Gift travel existed in Congress for decades with few guardrails or oversight. But about 25 years ago, scandals that involved pricey outings to Scotland and elsewhere, paid for by notorious lobbyist Jack Abramoff, prodded Congress to implement tough new travel regulations.

But after that scandal, in which Abramoff was charged with bribery, Congress approved legislation that banned trips that are “planned, organized, requested, arranged, or financed in whole or in part by a lobbyist or foreign agent, or in which a lobbyist participates.”

Members of Congress and their staffers were required to seek permission from the House Ethics Committee to accept a free trip, provide an agenda and breakdown of expenses and file post-travel reports. And greater transparency was provided about gift travel.  

Privately-funded travel dropped after the new restrictions were put in place. Additional restrictions were implemented in 2021. But there is evidence the popularity of gift travel is on the upswing.

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According to LegiStorm, lawmakers took 2,455 trips, with a total value of $10.4 million, in 2024. But just in the first six months of 2025, lawmakers accepted 1,824 trips with a value of about $9.6 million.

Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said the restrictions on privately funded travel, which he advocated, have some unforeseen loopholes.

The largest one was seized upon by AIPAC, which simply “set up a foundation on paper” to continue to lead all others in providing lawmakers with free trips, Holman said.

Others involve “consultants” and other representatives of special interests who simply don’t file as lobbyists but perform the same function.

“What we find is that many who should register as lobbyists don’t and are not subject to the same public scrutiny,” Holman said.

He also found that while lobbyists are barred from traveling with lawmakers or their staff, they can show up at the trip’s destination.

There is another type of trip taken by lawmakers and their staffers. Those are the congressional delegation trips, or CODELs, that are considered official business and paid for – and approved – by congressional committees and use taxpayer dollars.

“They provide more transparency,” Holman said.

Yet he also said privately-funded travel can help broaden the knowledge of lawmakers and their staff if done properly. “They can be valid trips if they are financed by an entity that wants to educate, not get something back,” he said.

Many Minnesota congressional offices did not respond to requests for comment. But the office of Rep. Betty McCollum, D-4th District, sent a statement.

“Approved travel directly relates to legislative assistants’ policy portfolios, including national security, climate policy, artificial intelligence, and the congresswoman’s leadership as co-chair of the congressional Burma caucus,” the statement said.

It also said “sponsored congressional staff travel undergoes review and approval by the House Ethics Committee.”

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — David Doty, the U.S. District Judge who directed numerous NFL labor matters in his Minneapolis courtroom and made a 1992 ruling that paved the way for modern free agency, has died. He was 96.

District of Minnesota officials announced that Doty died on Saturday, three days before his birthday. No cause was given.

“Judge Doty devoted his life to public service and the law, presiding over NFL-related litigation for many years during his distinguished career,” the league said in a statement issued after his death. “We express our sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.”

Appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the federal bench in 1987, Doty gained senior status in 1998 and continued to handle cases until a few months before his death. After serving six years in the Marines, Doty earned his law degree in 1961 from the University of Minnesota before 26 years in private practice.

He presided over thousands of civil and criminal cases during his judicial career, including several landmark NFL management-union disputes with a down-to-earth and pleasant demeanor that could turn stern if he felt the lawyers arguing in front of him needed to be redirected.

“Judge Doty devoted his entire professional life to serving others — as a Marine, as a lawyer who served not only clients but his community in many ways, and as a U.S. District Judge for nearly four decades. Despite his remarkable accomplishments, he was a genuinely humble man,” Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz said. “He treated everyone — from the guy who shined his shoes to Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court — the same way: with kindness and compassion and a sincere interest in their lives. I will particularly miss his sense of humor. He always had a smile on his face.”

After a 1987 player strike that interrupted the regular season, the NFL Players Association filed suit over the league’s restrictive rules around free agency, and Doty was assigned to the case.

Urging both parties to continue bargaining, Doty initially sided with the NFL by refusing to turn loose some 300 players from their teams onto the open market. In 1990, however, he granted them freedom to pursue individual antitrust cases against the league.

In 1992, the limited free agency system the owners had implemented in absence of a collective bargaining agreement — “Plan B” allowed teams to protect 37 players from signing elsewhere — was struck down by a jury of eight women.

After the trial that lasted more than three months with 16 hours of deliberation, Doty then ruled in favor of a handful of players who’d filed suit for unrestricted free agency. The following year, star defensive end Reggie White led a class-action lawsuit against the league that sparked fresh negotiations between the two sides.

The eventual settlement created the next collective bargaining agreement that included more permissive free agency and a salary cap system to pacify owners concerned about skyrocketing payroll costs. White, an eight-time All-Pro who landed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after his death in 2004, left the Philadelphia Eagles to sign with the Green Bay Packers. He helped lead them to a Super Bowl title after his fourth season with the club.

That 1993 agreement that was trumped by the new CBA in 2011 is at the root of the league’s competitive parity and widespread popularity that continues to soar some 33 years later. Doty continued for decades to maintain jurisdiction over the labor disputes that weren’t resolved through the league’s own arbitration process — from money matters to player discipline.

Doty ruled in 2008 that then-jailed quarterback Michael Vick could keep more than $16 million in bonus money the Atlanta Falcons tried to recoup after he pleaded guilty to federal charges for running a dogfighting operation. He also sided with the NFLPA and running back Adrian Peterson in 2015 in his appeal of a suspension by the league following the child abuse case against him.

Doty didn’t always favor the union. He denied in 2012 a motion to reopen the White agreement in a collusion case against the league that was kept alive in appeals court. After Doty recused himself from that case in 2014, Doty’s colleague U.S. District Judge Michael Davis rejected anew the claim of a secret 2010 cap on player salaries.

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WASHINGTON – Food stamps were a focus of attention as a new report showed that participation in the program has dropped by more than 4 million people nationwide and the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its latest food stamp “error rate” report this week.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities said participation in the food stamp program, known officially as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), dropped after President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” was enacted into law about a year ago, placing new restrictions on beneficiaries.

The drop was noted even before the most impactful aspect of the bill, new work requirements, went into effect June 1.

According to the center, participation dropped an average of 10% nationally between the law’s July 2025 enactment and March 2026, based on data from the USDA. Minnesota’s participation rate fell by far less, the center’s report said — about 3.55%.

There were about 435,000 SNAP recipients in Minnesota at the end of March. And that number is expected to drop because of the new work requirements.

As of June 1, recipients must log at least 20 hours per week in paid employment or approved education, training or volunteer service.

There’s another change to the SNAP program that has been implemented by the megabill Congress approved last summer. SNAP is fully funded by the federal government, but the law will require states that have an unacceptable error rate to pay for a share of the cost of the program.

The “big beautiful bill” has already cut the administrative funds states receive from the federal government to administer SNAP, but this will cost states much more.  

Error rates are an accounting of the overpayments and underpayments a state gives SNAP recipients. The USDA report released this week showed Minnesota had a 12.58% error rate, far greater than the rate Congress deemed acceptable, which is 6%.

But the average national error rate was high in 2025, too. It was 10.68%.

Minnesota and many other states now have a year to reduce the error rate or take a hit to their state budgets.

In 2024, the USDA said Minnesota’s error rate was 8.98%.

The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families did not respond to a query about the state’s SNAP error rate.   

But Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6^th District, made use of the report to, once again, slam Gov. Tim Walz.

“Tim Walz’s Minnesota has one of the highest SNAP overpayment rates in the country,” Emmer said in a statement. “Under Walz’s so-called leadership, our overpayment rate increased by more than 50% in just one fiscal year. This is unacceptable, and if it continues, hardworking Minnesotans are going to pay the price for the Walz Administration’s total inability to manage and safeguard taxpayer dollars.”

Not bringing home the bacon

The U.S. Senate released a draft version of its farm bill this week that does not include one key Democratic demand – a measure that would reverse the requirement that would soon force some states to cover some food stamp costs.

Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, have vowed to oppose any farm bill that does not include that measure.

“Senate Agriculture Committee Democrats have been clear that a Farm Bill must meet the needs of both farmers and families across America,” the panel’s Democratic members said in a statement. This bill does not address the devastating cuts to SNAP or the shift to state taxpayers passed into law … .”

The statement also said Democrats “stand ready to work with Republicans to negotiate a bipartisan Farm Bill that both meets the moment and can be successful on the Senate Floor.”

The draft was similar to a farm bill the U.S. House approved in April. But it did not contain one provision that many Democrats opposed.

The so-called Save our Bacon Act included in the House farm bill would nullify state bans on imported pork and other meats that come from livestock raised in inhumane conditions.

The move to put a federal ban on states that limit imports of farm products for humane reasons comes from a law passed by California that was a result of a ballot initiative called Proposition 12. But other states have also placed similar restrictions.

When the Senate has finished work on its farm bill, that legislation must be reconciled with the House’s farm bill.

In a post on X, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, said he would not accept a final bill that contained the Save our Bacon Act.

“I OPPOSE the Save Our Bacon Act and any attempt to jam it into the Farm Bill,” Schumer said. “This bill would gut state food safety and animal welfare laws, wipe out voter-approved protections, and strip states like NY of the right to set basic standards.”

Schumer called the livestock legislation “a giveaway to Big Ag and meat monopolies, punishing family farmers who followed the rules, while giving the biggest corporations more power to squeeze farmers and families.”

The Senate Agriculture Committee’s decision to keep the Save our Bacon Act out of its farm bill was hailed by animal rights groups.

“The vast majority of Americans want to end animal suffering and oppose attempts to undo popular, commonsense laws that protect animals, support independent farmers and make it easier for consumers to find more humane, healthy food,” said Nancy Perry, a top lobbyist for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

In other news:

▪️Writer Forrest Peterson found that, although the nation has been entranced by the horrific condition of the water in the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., there are also plenty of impaired waters closer to home. His story says state regulators are hosting public meetings throughout the summer to review 3,000 bodies of water in the state.
▪️The DFL, and national Democrats, breathed a sigh of relief when Sen. Amy Klobuchar decided to run for Gov. Tim Walz’s seat. But the popular senator, a veteran at running for statewide office, must persuade voters she can be a good administrator, and not just a skilled legislator, as she hopes to pilot a state that has undergone tough times. 
▪️Meanwhile, Metro reporter Trevor Mitchell wrote that advocates say a new position in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office aimed at helping victims of domestic abuse solves one problem while ignoring others.
▪️And Greater Minnesota reporter Brian Arola has a story about attempts to halt the establishment of data centers in the state. He writes that, after striking out at the local and state levels, activists who oppose those centers are looking to the fall elections to slow down developments.  

Please keep your comments, and any questions, coming. I’ll try my best to respond. Please contact me at aradelat@minnpost.com.

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WASHINGTON – Food stamps were a focus of attention as a new report showed that participation in the program has dropped by more than 4 million people nationwide and the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its latest food stamp “error rate” report this week.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities said participation in the food stamp program, known officially as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), dropped after President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” was enacted into law about a year ago, placing new restrictions on beneficiaries.

The drop was noted even before the most impactful aspect of the bill, new work requirements, went into effect June 1.

According to the center, participation dropped an average of 10% nationally between the law’s July 2025 enactment and March 2026, based on data from the USDA. Minnesota’s participation rate fell by far less, the center’s report said — about 3.55%.

There were about 435,000 SNAP recipients in Minnesota at the end of March. And that number is expected to drop because of the new work requirements.

As of June 1, recipients must log at least 20 hours per week in paid employment or approved education, training or volunteer service.

There’s another change to the SNAP program that has been implemented by the megabill Congress approved last summer. SNAP is fully funded by the federal government, but the law will require states that have an unacceptable error rate to pay for a share of the cost of the program.

The “big beautiful bill” has already cut the administrative funds states receive from the federal government to administer SNAP, but this will cost states much more.  

Error rates are an accounting of the overpayments and underpayments a state gives SNAP recipients. The USDA report released this week showed Minnesota had a 12.58% error rate, far greater than the rate Congress deemed acceptable, which is 6%.

But the average national error rate was high in 2025, too. It was 10.68%.

Minnesota and many other states now have a year to reduce the error rate or take a hit to their state budgets.

In 2024, the USDA said Minnesota’s error rate was 8.98%.

The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families did not respond to a query about the state’s SNAP error rate.   

But Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6^th District, made use of the report to, once again, slam Gov. Tim Walz.

“Tim Walz’s Minnesota has one of the highest SNAP overpayment rates in the country,” Emmer said in a statement. “Under Walz’s so-called leadership, our overpayment rate increased by more than 50% in just one fiscal year. This is unacceptable, and if it continues, hardworking Minnesotans are going to pay the price for the Walz Administration’s total inability to manage and safeguard taxpayer dollars.”

Not bringing home the bacon

The U.S. Senate released a draft version of its farm bill this week that does not include one key Democratic demand – a measure that would reverse the requirement that would soon force some states to cover some food stamp costs.

Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, have vowed to oppose any farm bill that does not include that measure.

“Senate Agriculture Committee Democrats have been clear that a Farm Bill must meet the needs of both farmers and families across America,” the panel’s Democratic members said in a statement. This bill does not address the devastating cuts to SNAP or the shift to state taxpayers passed into law … .”

The statement also said Democrats “stand ready to work with Republicans to negotiate a bipartisan Farm Bill that both meets the moment and can be successful on the Senate Floor.”

The draft was similar to a farm bill the U.S. House approved in April. But it did not contain one provision that many Democrats opposed.

The so-called Save our Bacon Act included in the House farm bill would nullify state bans on imported pork and other meats that come from livestock raised in inhumane conditions.

The move to put a federal ban on states that limit imports of farm products for humane reasons comes from a law passed by California that was a result of a ballot initiative called Proposition 12. But other states have also placed similar restrictions.

When the Senate has finished work on its farm bill, that legislation must be reconciled with the House’s farm bill.

In a post on X, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, said he would not accept a final bill that contained the Save our Bacon Act.

“I OPPOSE the Save Our Bacon Act and any attempt to jam it into the Farm Bill,” Schumer said. “This bill would gut state food safety and animal welfare laws, wipe out voter-approved protections, and strip states like NY of the right to set basic standards.”

Schumer called the livestock legislation “a giveaway to Big Ag and meat monopolies, punishing family farmers who followed the rules, while giving the biggest corporations more power to squeeze farmers and families.”

The Senate Agriculture Committee’s decision to keep the Save our Bacon Act out of its farm bill was hailed by animal rights groups.

“The vast majority of Americans want to end animal suffering and oppose attempts to undo popular, commonsense laws that protect animals, support independent farmers and make it easier for consumers to find more humane, healthy food,” said Nancy Perry, a top lobbyist for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

In other news:

▪️Writer Forrest Peterson found that, although the nation has been entranced by the horrific condition of the water in the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., there are also plenty of impaired waters closer to home. His story says state regulators are hosting public meetings throughout the summer to review 3,000 bodies of water in the state.
▪️The DFL, and national Democrats, breathed a sigh of relief when Sen. Amy Klobuchar decided to run for Gov. Tim Walz’s seat. But the popular senator, a veteran at running for statewide office, must persuade voters she can be a good administrator, and not just a skilled legislator, as she hopes to pilot a state that has undergone tough times. 
▪️Meanwhile, Metro reporter Trevor Mitchell wrote that advocates say a new position in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office aimed at helping victims of domestic abuse solves one problem while ignoring others.
▪️And Greater Minnesota reporter Brian Arola has a story about attempts to halt the establishment of data centers in the state. He writes that, after striking out at the local and state levels, activists who oppose those centers are looking to the fall elections to slow down developments.  

Please keep your comments, and any questions, coming. I’ll try my best to respond. Please contact me at aradelat@minnpost.com.

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WASHINGTON — When the Democratic Party needed a strong candidate to keep Minnesota’s governor’s seat in the “blue” column, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar answered the call.

“I truly do love my job in the Senate, but I love my state more than any job and I believe that we can get to a better place,” Klobuchar said. “I don’t like the status quo.”

Heavily favored to be Minnesota’s next governor and the first woman to hold that position, Klobuchar’s strategy is to distance herself from Gov. Tim Walz and to crack down on any allegations of fraud with a 40-point plan aimed at reforming state government. And she said she is ready to rush the transformation.

“Patience is a virtue, but it’s one I don’t have,” she said.

Klobuchar, 66, said she received calls from both state DFLers and national Democrats after Walz in early January reversed course and decided not to run for a third term, giving Klobuchar just one day’s notice of his decision.

Related: Capitol Conversations: What Klobuchar stands for (so far)

“I’d been saying, ‘Maybe you could wait two weeks,’” said Klobuchar, who herself waited two weeks to file as a gubernatorial candidate.

She said “there were a lot of people in the Senate that made the case for me to stay there.”

“But I think people understood the unique moment we were in as a state and why I made that decision,” she said.

A member of the Democratic leadership in the Senate, Klobuchar has through seniority and grit climbed the ranks to win the No. 3 spot in Senate Democratic leadership as chair of the Steering and Policy Committee.

But Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., who has worked closely with Klobuchar on regional issues, said Klobuchar may have been considering how much further she could climb. “She had to weigh, ‘Do I stay and see how that plays out or do I go back to Minnesota?’” Hoeven said.

Tim Lindberg, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota Morris, said Klobuchar may have suffered some frustration working in a closely divided Senate. Whether the chamber is controlled by Democrats or Republicans, the filibuster rule that requires much legislation to have the support of at least 60 senators has impeded many initiatives from moving forward.

“Being governor allows her to be in a power position where she can do things and make big changes,” Lindberg said.

The professor said the advantage of an open seat and the fact Klobuchar entered the race fairly early, “eclipsing all other possible (Democratic) contenders,” was in her favor.

Klobuchar said the “horror” of what has happened recently in Minnesota, including the murders of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School and the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents during Operation Metro Surge also influenced her decision to run for governor.

“I’ve always believed that we could get to higher ground and it’s been one thing after another that’s made that hard in Minnesota,” she said.

Last month, Klobuchar chose former Fergus Falls Mayor Ben Schierer as her lieutenant governor candidate. 

Having represented Minnesota in the U.S. Senate since 2007, Klobuchar is a known political commodity.

A moderate who nonetheless is willing to take on powerful interests — including the pharmaceutical industry and the tech giants — albeit in a limited way, Klobuchar is considered a workaholic on Capitol Hill — a trait she acknowledges often wears out her staff. She’s also distinguished herself by her ability to find common ground with Republicans to pass legislation.

“I’ve always focused on getting things done,” she said. “There’s this moment in time that is not going to be like any other where we’ve been facing hard things and I want to make sure that we stay together as a state, despite the political divides and changing the status quo and not just accepting things and restoring people’s trust in our government again.”

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said she learned a lot from Klobuchar about the workings of the Senate when they worked together on regional issues.

“When she’s trying to persuade a colleague on an issue, she’s really prepared,” Baldwin said. “She also has the instinct to know where an agreement can be forged.”

And Klobuchar, who was born in Plymouth, is tireless when it comes to meeting voters.

“She visits every single county in Minnesota every year,” Baldwin said. “That means to me she knows every corner of the state and she has her finger on the pulse.”

Hoeven said that when working on joint projects with Klobuchar, including a massive Red River flood protection plan, he noticed that “she probably gets no more than six hours of sleep.”

Lindberg said Klobuchar is bipartisan in a “politically palatable way.” He said she does not embrace GOP initiatives but finds ways to work with Republicans that share common interests with her.  

Her partnership with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for instance, resulted in the Take it Down Act, which criminalizes the non-consensual sharing of AI-generated images and requires social media platforms to remove such content within 48 hours.

“It’s a model (to take down) other inappropriate things on platforms,” Klobuchar said

The senator said she used her position as chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inauguration Ceremonies, which put her in close contact with First Lady Melania Trump on the day President Donald Trump took his second oath of office, to successfully lobby for the president’s support of the Take it Down Act.

The ‘strongest DFL statewide candidate’

A Yale grad who earned her law degree at the University of Chicago, wrote several books on policy, made a bid for the White House and served as Hennepin County attorney, Klobuchar has had name recognition in the state for decades.

At the start of her career, that name recognition may have been at least in part due to her father, Jim Klobuchar, who was a prominent and much-admired sports and politics reporter for the Star Tribune.

Now she is by far the best-known Klobuchar in the state and such a political heavyweight that the DFL is betting that having her name on the top of the ballot will lift the fortunes of other DFL candidates.

Jacob Rubashkin of Inside Elections said Klobuchar’s strength is “that she has universal name ID and a track record of being the strongest DFL statewide candidates over the past decade.”

“She has a nationwide fundraising base from her time in the Senate and presidential run, and an existing statewide infrastructure that she can redirect to her gubernatorial contest,” Rubashkin said.

Related: With Klobuchar and Flanagan already in the cat bird’s seat, the DFL convention was defined by neophyte Kobey Layne and mild misadventures

She has already raised more than $7 million in campaign cash, far outpacing her political rivals. 

If Klobuchar wins the Democratic primary in August against progressive challenger Kobey Layne, as expected, the senator will face one of three Republicans. They are House Speaker Lisa Demuth, former healthcare executive Kendall Qualls or My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, all of whom are vying for the GOP nomination in their party’s August primary.

Since Klobuchar does not know yet who her Republican opponent will be, she’s focusing much of her campaign on hitting Trump on a variety of issues — including the reflecting pool fiasco – and on the Democrats’ political mantra of “affordability” as prices for oil, food and other necessities continue to climb.

Her appeals for campaign donations, however, focus on Lindell, whose personal allegiance to Trump prompted Lindell to make false claims about the 2020 election that have led to a number of lawsuits and multi-million dollar judgments and who is better known than the other Republicans vying for Walz’s seat.

Whoever wins the GOP primary, however, is likely to be an underdog in November’s general election. Republicans have not filled a statewide seat in Minnesota in 20 years.

Clout that would be hard to replace

If Klobuchar wins in November, it will be difficult for any candidate that is appointed to fill out the rest of her term to match her clout.

Among the benefits Klobuchar’s seniority and skills have brought is her ability to direct billions of federal dollars to Minnesota.

Baldwin said she worked with Klobuchar to procure more than $1 billion to replace the 60-year-old Blatnik Bridge, a crossing that carries Interstate 535 and U.S. Highway 53 over the Saint Louis River, connecting Duluth and Superior, Wis.

The project had been given a green light through former President Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure bill, but there were concerns about its fate after Trump was elected to his second term.

Related: Chaos at Minnesota conventions reignites calls for a new way of choosing candidates

So, the Democratic senators successfully lobbied Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who happens to come from northern Wisconsin.

Klobuchar’s relationship with Hoeven was also forged through a joint effort to wrest money for their states from Washington.

In this case, the money they sought was for a U.S. Army Corp of Engineers flood prevention project along the Red River. The senators and the volunteers on their side of the river had a friendly rivalry filling sandbags to prevent the river from flooding, but the permanent solution was a $3.2 billion public-private partnership that required “a lot of legislation,” Hoeven said.

Yet Hoeven, who was North Dakota’s Republican governor before entering the Senate, said there is no doubt about which is the best political job.

“Governor was the better job,” Hoeven said. “I am deeply honored to be in the Senate, but as governor you can set your agenda and work with people to achieve it and Amy would really like that.”

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A federal judge has blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to subpoena Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other state officials, calling it an effort to “harass and retaliate against them.”

In a ruling unsealed Monday, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schlitz found the “dominant purpose” of the subpoenas was to “coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration law and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so.”

The subpoenas seeking records were served in January as part of an investigation into whether Walz and other officials obstructed or impeded law enforcement during a sweeping immigration operation in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. They were sent to the offices of Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties.

Related: Vance demands DOJ conduct criminal fraud probe of Walz, Ellison after release of committee report

The ruling is the latest rebuke by the federal judiciary of Justice Department efforts to aggressively implement the Trump administration agenda in courts and target the president’s political adversaries through subpoenas and similar demands.

The judge ruled that there appeared to be “extremely weak to nonexistent” connections between the information sought in the subpoenas and any possible criminal violation. The subpoenas seek materials “that largely if not entirely relate to constitutionally protected conduct,” the judge wrote, noting that Minnesota has the legal right not to devote its resources to enforcing federal immigration law.

The Justice Department “is not conducting a criminal investigation,” the judge wrote, “but is instead using the grand jury process for other (unlawful) purposes.”

The evidence that the subpoenas were issued for unlawful reasons is overwhelming, the judge said, arguing that the Justice Department “has struggled — without success — to identify a single plausible investigatory justification” for them.

The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Walz, in a statement, called the ruling “a victory for the rule of law and our democracy.”

“The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing criminal investigations into the President’s political opponents,” said Walz, the 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president. “This case was just one example of that, but we are seeing daily reminders of this administration’s lawlessness — in Minnesota and around the country. We all must continue to seek justice and uphold the rule of law.”

Ellison said “it should disturb every American that Donald Trump is weaponizing the criminal justice system against people he disagrees with.”

The subpoenas “a politically motivated retaliation against our city for lawfully standing up to ICE and fighting for our residents,” Her said in a statement, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Frey said the investigation was “never about justice, law, and order, but the absence of it.”

“Subpoenaing political opponents because they spoke on behalf of their constituents violates the core tenets of our democracy and human decency,” he said.

Frey also observed that criticizing government action is not a crime.

“One of the defining strengths of our democracy is the ability to challenge those in power without fear of retribution. Elected officials have both the right and the responsibility to speak honestly about how government decisions affect the people they serve,” he said.

Over the last year, judges have dismissed indictments against two prominent Trump foes, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, and grand juries have repeatedly refused to return indictments sought by the Justice Department.

The moves reflect mounting public concerns that the Justice Department, an institution meant to make investigative and prosecution decisions independent of the White House, is being politicized under the current Trump administration.

Vice President JD Vance has separately called on the Justice Department to investigate Walz and Ellison over allegations they failed to stop widespread social services fraud, though the department has not said whether it will open an investigation. Walz and Ellison have described those allegations as politically motivated and defended their efforts to combat fraud in Minnesota.

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 WASHINGTON – Rep. Kelly Morrison is likely the wealthiest member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation, Rep. Betty McCollum is burdened with two mortgages, and Rep. Angie Craig sold her condo on a Mexican beach.

Those are just some of the findings in the financial disclosure reports filed by Minnesota’s members of Congress.

The reports, covering lawmakers’ finances in 2025 and filed with the House Ethics Committee, also show that several Minnesota lawmakers have more modest assets and income.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-5^th District, has a debt of  between $15,000 and $50,000 for her student loans. Her husband, Tim Mynett, holds credit card debt valued at between $15,000 and $50,000.

Related: There’s a chasm in wealth between GOP Senate contenders, according to new financial disclosure filing

While members of Congress are required to report certain income, assets, liabilities and transactions, they do so in wide dollar ranges so only a broad view of their financial disclosures are made public.

And several types of assets do not have to be reported, including the value of a main residence and any money invested in the Thrift Savings Plan, a retirement plan for federal workers that is similar to an IRA or 401k. Nor are the lawmaker’s salaries listed, which for most members of Congress is $174,000 this year. 

Still, the disclosures offer a glimpse into the finances of individual members – and can divulge possible conflicts of interest.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump attacked Omar over a sharp increase in the valuations of two companies owned by her husband. That increase prompted a congressional probe by one of the president’s staunchest GOP allies and Trump’s suggestion to the Justice Department to investigate the lawmaker and her husband for fraud.

Omar’s original 2024 finance report said those companies were worth between $6 million and $30 million. That was a sharp increase from their stated value in the lawmaker’s 2023 disclosure.

Omar subsequently amended her 2024 disclosure report, saying the valuations of Mynett’s companies – a winery in California and a venture capital firm called Rose Lake Capital – were made in error because they did not include the companies’ liabilities and debts.

Omar’s most recent report listed the valuation of the companies – in which her husband is partial owner – as “none.”

Vast stock holdings 

Morrison, D-3^rd District, received an extension from the Ethics Committee that allows her to file her report as late as Aug. 13.

But her last report, filed July 20, 2025, showed that the lawmaker had between $503,000 and more than $1 million in personal bank accounts, and that she and her husband owned between $22.9 million and $77 million in mutual funds, individual stock holdings and other assets.

The couple also reported a rental property worth between $500,000 and about $1 million.

Morrison’s vast stock holdings came under scrutiny in April when it was discovered that she filed reports on trades months after they were due, and in one case more than a year late. The eight trades in question together were worth between $1.41 million and $2.91 million.

Besides filing annual financial disclosure reports, members of Congress must also publicly disclose any individual stock, bond, or commodity trade over $1,000 within 30 to 45 days of the transaction.

A spokeswoman for Morrison said the lawmaker was unaware of the trades, which were made by her financial advisor. And Morrison said she would divest herself of all individual stocks and holdings in private companies.

“I take my role as a public servant very seriously,” Morrison said in a statement. “Trust in government is critically important and even the appearance of a conflict of interest can erode that trust. I don’t want there to ever be a question of what I am fighting for and who I serve. That is why I am divesting from all public and private companies and will no longer own individual stocks.” 

Craig, D-2^nd District, meanwhile, listed a personal bank account holding $250,000 to $500,000 and mutual funds and other investments – some held jointly with her wife – worth between nearly $4.3 million and $8.6 million.

The Senate candidate also reported selling a condominium she and her spouse owned in Playa del Carmen, a beach resort town on the Mexican Caribbean. That property was valued at between $100,000 and $250,000.

Farmland, rental properties help enrich lawmakers 

On the other end of the financial spectrum, Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6^th District, filed a very simple report. It only listed one asset, an IRA worth  between $15,000 and $50,000.

Emmer’s report also listed only one liability, a mortgage valued at between $100,000 and $250,000.

Rep. Betty McCollum, D-4^th District, also filed an uncomplicated financial report. She listed income from an annuity in the amount of $1,000 to $2,500 and a mortgage on her home in St. Paul worth between $100,000 and $250,000.

McCollum also listed a second mortgage – on her home in Washington D.C. – worth between $250,000 and $500,000.

Meanwhile, Rep. Brad Finstad, R-1^st District, reported owning a stake worth between $1 million and $5 million in a family farm, and ownership of a building in Brown, Minn., worth $5 million.

Finstad also reported ownership of a New Ulm agricultural and environmental testing company called Frontier Labs valued at $1 million, and other assets worth between $582,000 and $1.43 million.

Another Republican, Rep. Michelle Fischbach who represents the 7th congressional district, reported ownership of three rental properties in Paynesville worth a total of between $200,000 and $450,000 and rental income from those properties in the range of $10,000 to $30,000.

Fischbach also reported assets that included stocks, mutual funds and farmland whose total worth was between $218,000 and $670,000.

Related: Omar responds to Trump, GOP charges of financial malfeasance and fraud with new financial disclosure filing

Fischbach’s liabilities include mortgages on rental property, residences and a vacation home worth $280,000 to $760,000, and student loans in the amount of $60,000 to $115,000.

Like Morrison, Rep. Pete Stauber, R-8^th District, requested an extension until Aug. 13 to file his 2025 financial reporting form.

The lawmaker’s 2024 report showed he owned a rental property in Hermantown valued at between $100,000 and $250,000, another in Proctor worth between $50,000 and $100,000 and a commercial building in Duluth valued at between $100,000 and $250,000.

Stauber also listed interest in two real estate companies worth between $65,000 and $150,000.

But the lawmaker also had liabilities. They included mortgages on rental properties worth between $100,000 and $250,000 and a mortgage on his home worth between $500,000 and $1 million.

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At first glance, a recent Democratic primary in California’s Central Valley was just another skirmish between the party’s progressive wing and its more moderate establishment.

This time, the contest was won by populist insurgent Randy Villegas. But what sets the outcome apart from similar primary battles is the stakes.

This wasn’t a fight over a safe Democratic seat. Villegas will be the standard bearer against Republican Rep. David Valadao, one of the most promising targets for Democrats desperate to retake the U.S. House majority and slow down President Donald Trump.

The November race will test the theory, popular on the left, that voters will flock to progressive, anti-establishment candidates even in places that have traditionally favored Republicans.

Related: Postal service seeks voter lists from states — or else

“A populist message isn’t just for blue districts or certain parts of the country,” said Ravi Mangla, a spokesperson for the Working Families Party, one of the progressive groups that backed Villegas. “It can win anywhere people feel like politics is not working for them.”

“More than ever, voters across the political spectrum want candidates who are willing to stand up to power,” Mangla said.

The National Republican Congressional Committee dismissed Villegas’ chances, even though the state’s Democratic leaders recently redrew the district to make it easier to flip this year.

“Democrats know Villegas can’t beat Congressman David Valadao, as he embraces the same failed policies that have made California more expensive, less safe, and harder for working families in the Central Valley,” said spokesperson Christian Martinez.

Progressives want a shot in key races

The Villegas victory comes during an election season in which substantial parts of the Democratic base are rejecting the candidates that party bosses see as their best shot at winning power in Congress.

Graham Platner overwhelmingly won the Democratic Senate primary in Maine this week after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s preferred nominee, Gov. Janet Mills, dropped out with lackluster support weeks before the election.

A combat veteran and oyster farmer, Platner has never held elected office before, and he’s endured controversies over past relationships with women, inflammatory online posts and a since-covered tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol.

In Michigan, Rep. Haley Stevens is entangled in a three-way contest for the Democratic Senate nomination against state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and progressive favorite Abdul El-Sayed. The primary is Aug. 4, and El-Sayed recently scored a major endorsement from the United Auto Workers union, a political powerhouse in the state that is home to the U.S. auto industry.

And in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race, progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is in a fierce battle with U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, who is backed by labor unions, LGBTQ groups and moderate Democrats ahead of the primary on Aug. 11.

Related: Rural progressives want the DNC to bring working class voters back into the fold

Another test will come on June 30 in Colorado, where progressive Manny Rutinel faces establishment-backed Shannon Bird in the Democratic primary to take on Republican Rep. Gabe Evans. Like Valadao, Evans is a top target for Democrats. And like the California race, the Colorado contest hinges on questions about who is most electable in November.

Democrats try to unite around their nominee

Valadao finished first and Villegas second in California’s primary, in which the top two candidates move on to the general election.

When early voting began about a month before the primary, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took the unusual step of publicly signaling support for Jasmeet Bains, a doctor and state Assembly member who had lined up support from a bevy of elected officials, unions and health care groups.

“Dr. Jasmeet Bains has fought on the frontlines of health crises and built a track record of delivering for the Central Valley,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement at the time. She did not criticize Villegas, but the public support for his rival was a powerful signal to Democratic donors and activists that the party believed Bains was a stronger candidate. Congressional leaders and the party apparatus they control rarely wade overtly into contested primaries for open seats.

The decision to back Bains infuriated many on the left, who saw it as another example of Washington insiders being out of touch with both the Democratic base and disaffected voters who helped power Trump’s victories.

“I think the moderates are wrong. People don’t want status quo, pro-corporate candidates,” said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, a progressive group that grew out of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. “They want people who are going to shake things up.”

Now that Villegas won, Democrats in Washington now insist he’s a strong candidate who is well-positioned to defeat Valadao. They point to the grassroots support that propelled him through the primary and the combined 59% that the Democrats got in the primary, significantly more than the 41% who voted for Valadao, though many more voters will turn out for the general election.

If the snub created tension between Villegas and his party, both sides buried it by Wednesday and presented a united front. California members of Congress, including some who had backed Bains, issued effusive statements, and he was magnanimous in return.

“We’re all in to elect Randy and flip this seat,” said Anna Elsasser, a spokesperson for the DCCC, the arm of the Democratic Party focused on winning House races. The district is “a must-win seat for the House majority, and we are confident in winning with Randy as the Democratic nominee,” she added.

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