That could not be what she meant to say.
Democratic Rep. Angie Craig, running for her third term representing Minnesota’s second Congressional district, committed a gaffe for the ages in her debate Thursday morning against Republican challenger Tyler Kistner.
“I will never stop standing up for Big Pharma and standing against my constituents!” she declared to stunned silence.
Democrat Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig: “I will never stop standing up for Big Pharma and standing against my constituents!” pic.twitter.com/TKxXhJsepf
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 13, 2022
Video of the declaration went viral after the debate, and will no doubt become a Kistner campaign ad.
The race to represent the southern portion of the Twin Cities is a rematch of the 2020 election, which Craig won by 9,580 votes or just over 2 percentage points. But the district is now considered a tossup as Republicans appear poised to take over control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Polls show the two virtually deadlocked.
Kistner is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who served four overseas tours. He has criticized Craig for previously calling for defunding of police departments.
The candidates covered abortion, guns, and the economy at the debate, with Craig trying to tie Kistner to former President Trump.
“You’re pro-life, you’re pro-Trump and you’re pro-guns,” Craig said. “Now, you get up here and you pretend to be the boy next door, but you are too extreme for Minnesota’s 2nd District.”
Incumbent Rep. Angie Craig (D) is in for a challenging reelection fight in Minnesota’s 2nd congressional district. She faces Tyler Kistner (R), whom she narrowly beat in 2020. Watch our Minnesota 2022 midterms preview here: https://t.co/Hp9TwAthIz pic.twitter.com/ZIstqabbEe
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) October 11, 2022
Kistner hit back by tying Craig to President Biden.
“Can you survive another two years of Joe Biden and Angie Craig’s leadership, or do you want the next two years to be a check and balance to these disastrous policies, and make sure it’s the beginning of a next two years where we’re back to the path to recovery and back to prosperity?” Kistner asked the audience at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount.
A third candidate in the race, Paula Overby, the Legal Marijuana Party Now, died earlier this month.
