On Saturday, Republican Delegates in the 7th Congressional District met in Morton, Minnesota to endorse their candidate for Congress. After three rounds of voting, delegates chose to adjourn and offer no endorsement to either of the major candidates.
Congresswoman Fischbach won her first term in 2020, beating longtime incumbent Colin Peterson. She was accused of winning the GOP endorsement that year after her campaign manager jammed the phone line of her opponent, Dave Hughes (county conventions were convened virtually that year).
The Congresswoman has also earned the ire of conservatives due to her support of foreign aid. On April 20th, she voted for a rule that paved the way for billions in taxpayer dollars to be sent overseas. This $95 billion package sent money to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
To put the icing on the cake, she also wholeheartedly supported the Kevin McCarthy speakership - a line crossed for many conservatives.
Her detractors also accuse her of being a career politician who has little respect for Republican activists. While duly Otter Tail County delegates were unseated by GOP Chair Hann, she quietly sat by and watched. It is speculated that she benefited today from the lack of conservative delegates present.
Businessman Steve Boyd stood in solidarity with the delegates in his run for Congress, which likely contributed to his support. Annette Watson was also a candidate. A few days before the convention, Fischbach announced she would no longer abide by the endorsement - intending to run in a primary regardless of the endorsement outcome. Fischbach had previously signed a pledge saying that she would indeed abide by the endorsement of the delegates.
Here are the first ballot percentage results:
Boyd 39.47%
Fischbach 49.47%
Watson 10%
No Endorsement 1.06%
After Watson dropped from consideration, a second vote was taken. The results tightened up.
Boyd 44.47
Fischbach 54
On the third vote, delegates voted not to endorse either candidate. This means that the Republican nominee will be determined in the August 13th primary.
A similar primary will play out in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District. Their endorsement was also held on Saturday, where lawyer Tayler Rahm handily won the endorsement over his opponent Joe Teirab – who was financially supported by House Majority Whip, Tom Emmer.
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FacebookThose who fault her for voting to consider the foreign aid packages should be fair and recognize that she voted against the Ukraine assistance bill. (I would have voted for it if the spending would have been offset by cutting the Department of Education or some similarly worthless agency, since I’d rather teach Mr. Putin a lesson about the follies of aggressive imperialism than provide a platform for woke indoctrination.)
The main point to consider is that while it would be great to have a Representative better than average, we have to be careful not to damage Representative Fischbach to the point that the Democrats take the seat. If she wins the primary, keep gently but firmly reminding here that she was challenged for the endorsement because she has been somewhat injudicious in her voting, and hope she remembers the lesson. The Scripture quotes a proverb, “Do not be deceived, evil company corrupts good morals.” That includes political bedfellows. May the best Republican win!