Matt Little wins DFL primary in CD2, will face Eric Pratt in general election

Matt Little won the Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, winning a three-way race to face Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt in the November general election.

Little beat state Sen. Matt Klein, a Mayo Clinic doctor who sought centrist and swing voters; and state Rep. Kaela Berg, who championed labor as a union flight attendant. 

Little is the former two-term mayor of Lakeville who represented the area in the state Senate from 2016 to 2020, when he lost to a Republican. He won the DFL endorsement in the primary and presented himself as a more progressive successor to Rep. Angie Craig, who left the state’s most competitive congressional district for a Senate bid.

“This win proves that even $3.5 million dollars of outside money couldn’t buy this election,” Little said in a statement. “It proves people believe real change is possible; that if we are bold and brave, we will stop Trump’s corruption, we will hold ICE accountable, and we will make life affordable, so the American dream is real for everyone!”

The 2nd Congressional District is purple but leaning towards Democrats, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report — and a must-hold if they’re to have a shot at taking over the U.S. House. Craig has represented the south suburban district since 2019.

Little positioned himself as the race’s progressive candidate, following a tide of progressive candidates who have won Democratic primaries around the country. Most recently, in Michigan, Democratic Socialist Abdul El-Sayed beat out U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in a Senate primary. 

Little’s commanding win — added to fellow progressive Berg’s vote total  — signals that even in Craig’s purple district, voters are seeking a stronger stance against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts. 

During Operation Metro Surge, Little posted videos of himself following immigration agents as part of the effort to observe and document their activities. (He took the New York Times on a ridealong.) 

Little promised to advocate for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding to be immediately reduced to pre-Trump levels and for the agency to be replaced “with a federal immigration agency that Americans can trust and that obeys the law and Constitution.”

Klein’s website didn’t mention immigration. 

In November, Little will face state Sen. Eric Pratt, a four-term state senator and the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. He ran uncontested on the Republican side of the primary ballot, promising to “crack down on fraud, abuse and the people who exploit the system” and to support law enforcement, including ICE.