The race against Joe Teirab and Angie Craig for Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District seat ends in a week.

Teirab brings experience as a federal prosecutor to the race

Joe Teirab has left his job as a federal prosecutor, hoping to unseat incumbent Angie Craig in the 2nd Congressional District.

“I think the biggest thing is that I’m for change,” he says. “I’m not the status quo.”

Teirab, 37, says his number one issue is the economy — cutting government spending and regulations.

“We had tax cuts that went through in 2017 that the small business owners we talked to in the Second District were big fans of, making sure they had more money in their pockets,” he notes.

This is Teirab’s first candidacy for public office.

He is a US Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq as an attorney and later served as an Assistant US Attorney in the Feeding Our Future government fraud case and various criminal investigations.

“In the RICO prosecution investigation of the Bloods criminal street gang, I was literally in a war room working with law enforcement from all kinds of agencies and leading all kinds of agencies,” Teirab explains.

Teirab has an anti-abortion stance, except in the case of rape, incest or saving the life of the mother.

But he opposes a federal ban and instead says it should be up to the states.

“My mother got pregnant with me, it was unplanned and she went to a crisis pregnancy center that encouraged her, gave her support,” says Teirab. “I’m only here today because of that.”

He says he wants more resources for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and that some immigrants who are in the country illegally should be deported.

Although Teirab adds that the government should not “round up the people who have been here for twenty years”.

According to Federal Election Commission filings, Teirab’s campaign raised nearly $3 million, compared to Craig’s nearly $8 million.

Our KSTP/SurveyUSA poll from earlier this month shows Craig leading Teirab by eight points, 49% to 41%.

He believes the race is closing.

If Teirab wins on election night, he would be the first Republican to win the 2^when District seat since 2016.

“We’re fixing the situation by working hard and taking into account those issues that we know people care about, which is the economy that’s driving prices down, making sure we’re securing our border,” Teirab says.

Craig prioritizing infrastructure, solar power in race for seat

Incumbent Democratic Rep. Angie Craig says she, her team and other supporters knocked on 20,000 doors last weekend as she works to hold on to her second congressional seat in Minnesota — a position she holds from 2019.

A week before Election Day, Rep. Craig joined a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the Dakota County Service Center for its new solar carport as he helped lock down $7.6 million for that and other solar projects in the county.

“I’m prioritizing your money, bringing it home,” Craig told workers and county officials.

She also expressed support for the Infrastructure Reduction Act and its impact on public infrastructure projects.

Other goals of her campaign were supporting law enforcement, affordability of college and healthcare, and protecting reproductive rights.

“Families don’t want politicians involved in their health care decisions. That’s what most families in the second district tell me every day,” Craig told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.

Although the 2nd District is considered one of, if not the most competitive race in the state, Craig says she feels confident running against Republican candidate Joe Teirab. She points to her bipartisan work on Capitol Hill as a reason for that confidence.

“In 2023 we voted against the Biden administration 30 percent of the time. That makes the Biden administration not happy with me all the time, or the Democrats not happy with me all the time, but my job is to represent Minnesota’s second district,” said Rep. Craig.

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