U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson is expected to win Minnesota's 7th Congressional Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsement for a ninth term on Saturday, while Republican Michael Barrett is on track to winning the Republican nod a week later.
Peterson announced on Tuesday what Democrats already knew -- that he is running for Congress again. Barrett, a Long Prairie pharmacist, announced last fall that he is challenging Peterson. Neither has an announced opponent within his party.
The DFL convention will be in Bemidji, while Republicans meet in Willmar.
"With the current farm bill expiring in 2007 and the Bush administration saying it wants to cut U.S. agriculture programs and sign more of these bilateral trade agreements that only seem to expose our producers to unfair foreign competition and put American farmers out of business, the Agriculture Committee is going to have a lot of very important issues on its plate," Peterson said.
"As one of the few committee members who has been through this process before, I know that we're going to have to fight hard and stick together in order to deliver a new farm bill that's good for Minnesota and the nation."
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Peterson is the top-ranking Democrat on the ag panel.
He is a Minnesota State University Moorhead graduate who has lived in Detroit Lakes since 1968.
Barrett is an Osakis High School graduate who earned his pharmacy degree from North Dakota State University in Fargo. He manages the Long Prairie Memorial Hospital pharmacy and lives in Browerville.
The Republican says Peterson has been ineffective, passing just one bill while in the House. Peterson has faced that charge from previous GOP challengers and says provisions he pushes often get into Republican bills that are more likely to pass than ones authored by Democrats, who are in the House minority.
"Even with his new minority position, Collin is still nothing more than a voice from the wilderness." Barrett said.
