With Craig signaling Senate run, Mike Norton edges closer to bid for CD2

Former Minneapolis DFL vice chair, prolific X poster and business owner Mike Norton has taken another step toward running for the south metro seat held by U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, Norton said Thursday. He’s formed an exploratory committee that is often a precursor to a campaign. 

Craig, who has represented Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District since 2019, has been signaling a run for governor or the Senate seat held by Sen. Tina Smith, who is retiring at the end of her term. Craig has not yet officially announced anything. She’s in the middle of touring Minnesota congressional districts that aren’t her own.

She appeared to stop accepting donations on her congressional fundraising page this week despite her reputation as a relentless fundraiser, and a fundraising page for a Senate run appeared to be briefly live Thursday morning before donations were turned off, according to a Minnesota DFL activist who posted it to X.

“Congresswoman Craig has said that she will make an announcement by the end of April about her intentions for 2026,” a spokesperson for Craig said.

Since the district’s longtime Republican Rep. John Kline announced his retirement ahead of the 2016 election, the 2nd District has been purple. Craig lost in 2016 before winning narrowly in the Democratic wave year of 2018 and adding to her margins of victory ever since. 

Redistricting following the 2020 census made the district slightly bluer, but even in a good year for Republicans, Craig won by more than 13 percentage points in 2024 after staking her claim to traditionally GOP issues like border security and support for law enforcement.

Minneapolis booster says he’ll move

Norton said the district’s changing demographics mean the area is now more blue than purple — and that’s why he thinks he’d have a good chance of winning despite a more progressive agenda than Craig. He wants to legalize marijuana at the federal level, eliminate daylight saving time and expand public school programming, including making public schools year-round.

Norton isn’t a resident of the district, but the U.S. Constitution only requires residency in the state of Minnesota to be elected to Congress. Other candidates would surely accuse him of carpetbagging were he to continue to live in Minneapolis.

“I’m not going to pull a Curtis Johnson,” Norton said when asked about his residency, referring to the DFL candidate for the state Legislature who was ruled ineligible for office last year because he didn’t live in the district. “I think what matters to CD-2 constituents is that they’re represented by somebody that can be effective in Congress — and I think I would be highly effective in Congress.”

Norton has been at times a vocal critic of his own party, and resigned from his post as vice chair of the Minneapolis DFL in 2023, citing concerns with the caucus and convention process.

Norton could face a crowded Democratic-Farmer-Labor field. A website touting the congressional candidacy of state Sen. Matt Klein was briefly up recently before it was taken down. State Sen. Erin Maye Quade could also be up for contention, should Craig run for higher office.

Norton is the founder of a logistics company that has twice been named one of the 50 fastest growing privately-held firms in Minnesota. He’s also something of an internet celebrity for promoting Minneapolis, capturing scenes of the City of Lakes — always referred to as “lovely” in his X posts — while riding his bike. He’s attracted legions of anti-Minneapolis trolls but has also sought to build bridges, including a bike ride with conservative state Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville. 

If Craig opts to run for Senate, she will face a tough primary against one of the state’s other top Democrats in Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who presents a more progressive option for voters who are wary of Craig’s moderation. 

Ahead of any expected Craig announcement, Flanagan released a list of endorsements from state legislators in Craig’s district, including DFL state Sens. Lindsey Port and Erin Maye Quade, and Reps. Kristi Pursell, Jess Hanson and Mary Frances Clardy.