Collin Peterson | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2012 | |
| Chair of theHouse Agriculture Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Mike Conaway |
| Succeeded by | David Scott |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Goodlatte |
| Succeeded by | Frank Lucas |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's7th district | |
| In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Arlan Stangeland |
| Succeeded by | Michelle Fischbach |
| Member of theMinnesota Senate from the10th district | |
| In office January 4, 1977 – January 5, 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Roger L. Hanson |
| Succeeded by | Cal Larson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Collin Clark Peterson (1944-06-29)June 29, 1944 (age 81) Fargo,North Dakota, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Minnesota State University, Moorhead (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1963–1969 |
| Unit | Army National Guard |
Peterson opening aHouse Agriculture Committee hearing on the2007 pet food recalls. Recorded May 9, 2007 | |
Collin Clark Peterson (born June 29, 1944) is an American accountant, politician, and lobbyist who served as theU.S. representative forMinnesota's 7th congressional district from 1991 to 2021. A member of theMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he was chairman of theHouse Committee on Agriculture from 2019 to 2021 having previously held the office from 2007 to 2011; he had been ranking member from 2011 to 2019 and 2005 to 2007. Peterson was the mostsenior U.S. representative fromMinnesota and the dean ofMinnesota's congressional delegation. In 2020, Peterson was defeated byMichelle Fischbach, ending his 30-year tenure in theUnited States House of Representatives. In 2022, Peterson registered as a federal lobbyist after opening an eponymous consulting firm.[1]
Collin Peterson was born inFargo, North Dakota, grew up on a farm inBaker, Minnesota, and received his B.A. atMinnesota State University Moorhead.
Peterson was a member of theMinnesota Senate for theDemocratic–Farmer–Labor Party (the Minnesota branch of the Democratic Party) from 1977 to 1986, representing a district in northwestern Minnesota. In 1976, he defeated Republican nomineeFrank DeGroat 55%-45%.[2] In 1982, he won re-election against state representativeCal Larson by just 200 votes, or 0.8% difference.[3]
In 1984, he ran forMinnesota's 7th congressional district in Northwestern Minnesota, held by RepublicanArlan Stangeland. Peterson lost 57%–43%.[4] In 1986, he ran in a rematch and narrowly lost by just 121 votes.[5] In 1988, he ran again but lost in the DFL primary to state senatorMarv Hanson 55%–45%.[6] Hanson went on to lose to Stangeland 55%–45%.
In 1990, he ran for a fourth time and won the primary. In the general election, he finally defeated seven-term incumbent Stangeland by 54%–46%.[7] Stangeland's stock had dropped sharply after he admitted to making a number of personal calls on his House credit card.[8][9]
In 1992, Peterson narrowly won re-election by a 50%–49% margin against former state representativeBernie Omann.[10] In a 1994 rematch, Peterson won again by a 51%–49% margin, despite theRepublican Revolution.[11] In 1996, he won re-election with 68% of the vote, and won every county in the district.[12] In 1998, he won re-election with 72% of the vote.[13]
In the 2000s, Peterson never faced a serious re-election challenge and only once did he win re-election with less than two-thirds of the vote. In 2000, he was mentioned as a possible candidatefor the U.S. Senate against RepublicanRod Grams, but he chose to run for re-election, winning with 69% of the vote.[14] In 2002, he won with 65% of the vote. In 2004, he won with 66% of the vote. In 2006, he won with 70% of the vote. In 2008, he won with 72% of the vote.
In 2010, Peterson survived another Republican wave election. This time, he defeated Lee Byberg 55%–38%, his worst election performance since 1994.[15] In2012, Peterson won re-election with 60.38% to Republican Lee Byberg's 34.85% and Independent Adam Steele's 4.67%.
In 2013, Republicans began pressuring Peterson, in hopes of convincing him to retire. His seat was one of only a handful represented by a Democrat which had been carried byMitt Romney in the 2012 election. Republican opposition tactics included airing television advertisements, hiring a press staffer to give opposition research to reporters, hiring a tracker to follow him around his district and record him, and sendingmobile billboards with critical statements on them to drive around his hometown. Peterson responded by saying, "They don't have anybody else to go after. It's kind of ridiculous, but whatever."[16][17] After Republicans spread rumors that Peterson was planning to buy a house in Florida and retire there, he said: "I went from neutral on running again to 90 percent just because of this stupid stuff they're doing. You can't let these people be in charge of anything, in my opinion."[18] On March 17, 2014, Peterson officially announced that he was running for re-election, saying, "I still have a lot of work to do".[19] Despite being heavily targeted by national Republican groups, Peterson defeated Republican state senatorTorrey Westrom in the general election by 54% to 46%.
In October 2014, Peterson said that he may keep running until 2020 because the Republicans "made me mad" with their efforts to defeat him or persuade him to retire.[20] In January 2015, he stated that he was "running at this point" for re-election in 2016, saying that the efforts by Republicans to unseat him had "energized me" and "got me fired up".[21] He was challenged by Republican retired Air Force Major Dave Hughes and beat him in close races in 2016 and 2018.
Peterson held onto his seat despite a growing Republican trend in the region. From 2000 to 2016, the Republican presidential candidate carried it by double digits three out of five times. This culminated in 2016, whenDonald Trump carried the district with 62 percent of the vote, his best showing in the state. Peterson thus sat in one of the most Republican districts in the country to be represented by a Democrat. His situation would be similar toRep. Gene Taylor who represented Mississippi 4th congressional district in a very red district with a cook partisan of R+20 until being beated by Steven Palazzo in the 2010 US House election.
In the November 2020 general election, Peterson was defeated for reelection by Republican former state senator and former lieutenant governorMichelle Fischbach.[22] In that same election, Trump again carried the 7th with his best margin in the state, this time with 64 percent and a 29-point margin.[23] Peterson lost to Fischbach by a 14-point margin, the largest margin of defeat for any House incumbent that year. Despite his loss, he was the top-performing Democratic representative compared to presidential nomineeJoe Biden, outperforming him by 16 points in the district.[24] Peterson was the only non-freshman member of the House of Representatives to lose re-election in 2020, and Minnesota's 7th district was one of only two congressional districts that Republicans flipped in 2020 that they did not hold prior to 2018, the other beingIowa's 2nd congressional district.
Peterson is one of the founders of theBlue Dog Coalition,[34] thecaucus of House Democrats who identify as moderates and conservatives.[35] He was one of the most conservative Democrats in recent American history and frequently crossed the party line.[36][37][38] Peterson had split from his party on issues such as gay marriage, healthcare, the estate tax, tort reform, gun control, the environment, DC statehood, and abortion.[39][40][41] In 2008, a report byCongressional Quarterly found he had the lowest party loyalty score over the previous five years of any member of the Minnesota congressional delegation.[42] In the109th Congress, he was rated 50% conservative by a conservative group[43] and 57%progressive by a liberal group.[44]
During the first session of the115th United States Congress, Peterson was ranked the most bipartisan member of theHouse of Representatives by the Bipartisan Index, a metric created by theLugar Center andGeorgetown'sMcCourt School of Public Policy to assesscongressional bipartisanship.[45][46]
Peterson is generally conservative on social issues; he strongly opposes legal abortion and has been one of the few Democrats to vote against embryonic stem cell research.[14][47] He has voted to ban physician-assisted suicide and also to approve the proposedFlag Desecration Amendment to theUnited States Constitution.[48] He also voted for theDefense of Marriage Act and supports the death penalty.[14][40]
In January 2019, in reference to President Trump's proposed wall across the southern border, Peterson said, "I'd give him the whole thing ... and put strings on it so you make sure he puts the wall where it needs to be. Why are we fighting over this? We're going to build that wall anyway, at some time." Peterson furthered that there could be stipulations requiring some funding go toward Border Patrol and security measures at ports of entry being improved.[49]
On April 4, 2019, Peterson was the only Democrat to vote against the reauthorization of theViolence Against Women Act, citing his disappointment with the law being "made partisan with the inclusion of language that would strip individuals' right to due process with respect to their 2nd Amendment rights."[50]
His district contains some of the most conservative counties in the state and also the state's most rural district; manyDFLers outside the Twin Cities are hunters and trappers who oppose gun control.[39][42] Peterson is a conservationist, but opposes "excessive environmental regulation" because he argues they harm farmers.[39] He is an avid hunter and supportsanimal trapping, but in 2000 he joined withthe Humane Society of the United States to pass legislation that stopped the interstate shipping of birds forcockfighting.[14][51] He has supported legislation that would end protection for wolves in the Endangered Species Act.[52]
In 2004, he joined withMinnesota attorney generalMike Hatch in suing the state ofNorth Dakota over what they argued were discriminatory laws that forbade non–North Dakota residents from hunting during the first week of thewaterfowl huntingseason.[53] Their case was rejected by theUnited States District Court for the District of North Dakota, a decision which was upheld by theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.[54]
Peterson is a "staunch" supporter of gun rights.[55] He has received successive "A" and "A+" ratings from theNRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF), with endorsements in 2010, 2014 and 2020.[56][57][58]
Although he's been called a strong fiscal conservative,[42] he is somewhat closer to the left wing of his party on certain economic issues: he has voted against mostfree trade agreements, theNorth American Free Trade Agreement,[39] theFreedom to Farm Act, and theTelecommunications Act of 1996. He also voted against both versions of thePatriot Act and he has been sharply critical of theNo Child Left Behind Act, which he contends is unfair to rural students.[41][39][59] He supports theFairTax, a national sales tax, estate-tax repeal and tort reform. He voted for theBankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act.[41]
Peterson joined the House Republicans in voting against theOmnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.[41]
Along withJohn Conyers, in April 2006 Peterson brought an action against George W. Bush and others alleging violations of theConstitution in the passing of theDeficit Reduction Act of 2005.[60] The case (Conyers v. Bush) was ultimately dismissed.[61]
On January 28, 2009, Peterson was amongst the seven Democrats who voted in the House together with the unanimous Republican opposition against President Obama's stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009).[62][63]
In 1998, as part of an effort to change what were considered unequal fishing regulations between the U.S. and Canada, Peterson gained attention by proposing aconstitutional amendment that would allow the residents of Minnesota'sNorthwest Angle to vote on whether they wanted tosecede from the United States and join the Canadian province ofManitoba.[64] Peterson said that the amendment, which was part of a mock secession movement, was successful in bringing the issue to the attention of the White House: "In just the day after I introduced (the amendment), people from the vice president's office have been asking questions, people in the White House (too). I've got meetings scheduled with the U.S. trade representative... we've educated people on both sides of the border, and I think we've brought it closer to the point where we'll get this thing resolved."[65]
In 2003, he was one of just 16 Democrats to vote for President Bush'sMedicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act.[41]
On March 21, 2010, Peterson voted against thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare).[66][67] In January 2016, he voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (he was the sole Democrat in the House to vote for the repeal).[68] In 2017, he voted against Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[69]
In January 2005, he was selected by the House Democratic Caucus to succeed former Texas congressmanCharlie Stenholm as the ranking member on theCommittee on Agriculture. He became the committee's chairman after the Democrats won control of the House two years later.
Peterson was a cosponsor of the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2005[70][71] which would provide job protection for three million illegal immigrant agricultural workers and their families, and extend the visas of legal immigrant agricultural workers.
In addition to this, Peterson was the chair of the House committee on Agriculture in the 116th Congress.
Peterson was one of the few Democrats to vote in favor of theMilitary Commissions Act of 2006.[72]
In May 2007, Peterson was the loneDemocrat to vote against the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act.[73]
In April 2009, Peterson voted against theMatthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.[74]
On May 6, 2009, Peterson voiced his opposition toclimate change legislation proposed by theObama administration saying, "I will not support any kind of climate change bill – even if you fix this – because I don't trust anybody anymore. I've had it." Peterson predicted that anEnvironmental Protection Agency proposal to assess indirect effects of ethanol production on greenhouse gas emissions, combined with the climate change legislation, could "kill offcorn ethanol."[75]
On July 27, 2009, a controversy erupted after Peterson was quoted in aPolitico.com article saying, "25 percent of my people believe the Pentagon andRumsfeldwere responsible fortaking the twin towers down. That's why I don't dotown meetings." The state Republican Party denounced the remark as "outrageous and offensive". Peterson apologized for the comment, which he described as "off-hand".[76]
Peterson is ananti-abortion Democrat. In 2010, he was endorsed by theNational Right to Life Committee.[citation needed]
In 2011, he co-sponsored HR 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.[77] The bill contained an exception for "forcible rape," which opponents criticized as potentially excluding drug-facilitated rape, date rape, and other forms of rape.[78] The bill also allowed an exception for minors who are victims of incest.[77]
Peterson supported a Constitutional Amendment that would ban legal recognition of same-sex marriages in the United States.
Peterson was one of five House Democrats who voted for the US to continue selling arms toSaudi Arabia and to support theSaudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.[79][80] Asked why he voted against the resolution and what he knew about the Yemeni civil war, Peterson said, "I don't know a damn thing about it".[80] Peterson also said that the resolution on US involvement in the Yemeni civil war would have jeopardized a farm bill that was under consideration at the same time; according to New York magazine's Eric Levitz, "by all accounts, voting against the Yemen resolution would not have doomed the farm bill."[80]
On October 31, 2019, he was one of two Democrats to vote against Article I of the impeachment inquiries against PresidentDonald Trump, and one of the three Democrats to vote against Article II.[81][82] He again was one of two Democrats, alongsideJeff Van Drew, to vote against impeachment on December 18, 2019.[83]
In February 2021, Peterson stated that he would have voted in favor of thesecond impeachment if he was in the House.[84]
On June 26, 2020, Peterson was the only Democratic representative to break with his party when he voted against H.R. 51, a bill that would allow forWashington, D.C., to be admitted as the country's51st state.[85]
Peterson was one of six House Democrats to vote against theMarijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act tolegalize cannabis at the federal level in 2020.[86]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michelle Fischbach | 193,986 | 53.5 | |
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 144,752 | 39.9 | |
| Total votes | 100.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 146,672 | 52.1 | −0.4 | |
| Republican | Dave Hughes | 134,668 | 47.9 | +0.4 | |
| N/A | others | 168 | >0.1 | − | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 173,589 | 52.5 | −1.7 | |
| Republican | Dave Hughes | 156,952 | 47.4 | +1.7 | |
| N/A | others | 307 | 0.1 | − | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 130,546 | 54.21 | −6.2 | |
| Republican | Torrey Westrom | 109,955 | 45.66 | +10.9 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 197,791 | 60.38 | +5.2 | |
| Republican | Lee Byberg | 114,151 | 34.85 | −2.8 | |
| Independence | Adam Steele | 15,298 | 4.67 | − | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 133,086 | 55.2 | −17 | |
| Republican | Lee Byberg | 90,682 | 37.6 | − | |
| Independent | Gene Waldorf | 9,310 | 3.9 | − | |
| Independence | Glen Menze | 7,904 | 3.3 | −24.4 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 227,180 | 72.2 | +2.2 | |
| Republican | Glen Menze | 87,057 | 27.7 | − | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 179,163 | 69.7 | +4 | |
| Republican | Michael Barrett | 74,680 | 29.0 | − | |
| Constitution | Ken Lucier | 3,303 | 1.3 | − | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 207,254 | 66.1 | − | |
| Republican | David Sturrock | 106,235 | 33.8 | − | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 170,191 | 65.3 | − | |
| Republican | Dan Stevens | 90,320 | 34.7 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 185,771 | 68.7 | − | |
| Republican | Glen Menze | 79,175 | 29.3 | − | |
| Write In | 5,550 | 0.02 | − | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 169,907 | 71.7 | − | |
| Republican | Aleta Edin | 66,562 | 28.1 | − | |
| Write In | 473 | 0.2 | − | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 170,936 | 68.1 | − | |
| Republican | Darrell McKigney | 80,132 | 31.9 | − | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 106,023 | 51.3 | − | |
| Ind.-Republican | Bernie Omann | 102,623 | 48.7 | − | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson (incumbent) | 133,886 | 50.67 | − | |
| Ind.-Republican | Bernie Omann | 130,396 | 49.33 | − | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Collin Peterson | 107,126 | 53.51 | − | |
| Ind.-Republican | Arlan Stangeland (incumbent) | 92,876 | 46.40 | − | |
Peterson lives inDetroit Lakes, just east of Moorhead. He is divorced and previously dated former congresswomanKatherine Harris, the former Republicansecretary of state of Florida.[39] He is a licensed private pilot and would frequently travel by private plane across his district.[14][39]
In December 2005, Peterson joined four Republicans to form theSecond Amendments, a rock andcountry band.[94]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's 7th congressional district 1991–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Agriculture Committee 2005–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Bob Goodlatte | Chair of theHouse Agriculture Committee 2007–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Frank Lucas | Ranking Member of theHouse Agriculture Committee 2011–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Mike Conaway | Chair of theHouse Agriculture Committee 2019–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chair of theBlue Dog Coalition for Policy 1995–1999 Served alongside:Gary Condit (Administration),John S. Tanner (Communications) | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
