WASHINGTON – There’s no waiting game for U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson this time.
Peterson, a Detroit Lakes Democrat who represents Minnesota’s sprawling 7th Congressional District, which stretches along the western edge of Minnesota, said through a spokeswoman Tuesday that he plans to seek his 14th term in Congress in 2016.
“I can confirm that he has said he’s running at this point, and raising money,” Allison Myhre said in an email Tuesday afternoon.
Facing renewed attention from national Republicans, the 70-year-old congressman waited until March last year before disclosing he would seek re-election.
Despite being targeted by the GOP in an attempt to flip a district seen as Republican-leaning, Peterson cruised to a win over state Sen. Torrey Westrom of Elbow Lake, 54 percent to 46 percent.
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“They energized me last time, they got me fired up,” the Minneapolis Star-Tribune quoted Peterson as saying.
The National Republican Congressional Committee seized on that statement, saying it showed Peterson was running for re-election because of his personal animosity for his political opponents.
“Peterson’s jaw-dropping cynicism is worthy of a cameo in ‘House of Cards,’ and hardworking Minnesota families deserve better,” NRCC spokesman Zach Hunter said in a statement.
