1st Congressional District

Coverage

Negative ads bring attention to 3rd District race

10/13/10, 03:00 AM

This year, the race between first-term Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen and his DFL challenger Jim Meffert was hardly getting noticed outside of the western suburbs, until the negative ads started airing on TV.

MCCL supports Cravaack in 8th Congressional District

10/12/10, 01:17 PM

The move is a dramatic departure for the organization, which has backed Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar since the 1970s.

1st Congressional District candidates go head-to-head on health care, government spending

10/12/10, 09:46 AM

Three candidates vying to represent Minnesota's 1st Congressional District went head-to-head on health care reform, the federal budget deficit and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at a debate Monday in Mankato.

Government spending, health care takes the stage at 1st District debate

10/12/10, 06:11 AM

The feisty campaign for Minnesota's 1st District went on full display Monday night as the three candidates discussed everything from health care reform to the federal budget deficit and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Additional Coverage

Candidates

DFL

Tim Walz

GOP

Randy Demmer

Steven Wilson

independent

Lars Johnson

Median age:: 38
Per capita income:: $26,193
Individuals below poverty level:: 10.5%
Ethnicity:: White: 93.9%; Black: 1.5%; Asian: 2.1%; Hispanic: 4%; American Indian: 0.3%
Distribution:: Urban: 56%; Rural: 44%

1st Congressional District

The 1st Congressional District has been changing over the past few election cycles. The change is most apparent in Rochester, which had long been a Republican stronghold, but more recently is swinging toward the DFL. Many of the DFL's inroads in the legislative campaign of 2004 came in the 1st. The election of Tim Walz to replace incumbent Gil Gutknecht confirmed the change on Election Day 2006. The western part of the district tends to be more solidly Republican. But in the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama defeated Republican John McCain in the district 51 percent to 47 percent. Walz easily won re-election in 2008, but may face a tougher challenge this time around against Republican Randy Demmer, as anti-incumbent sentiment runs higher around the country.