GRAND RAPIDS — U.S. Rep. Angie Craig says she’s hosted 72 town halls since being elected in 2018. Her 73rd — and first outside the Second Congressional District — was in Grand Rapids on Monday, April 21.
The audience nearly filled the 200-seat Ives Studio Theater at the Reif Center to listen to the southern Minnesota Democrat speak for an hour, answering a handful of pre-submitted questions primarily about federal funding cuts.
The town hall was the first of four Craig is planning outside her district, one in each of the congressional districts held by Minnesota Republicans.
“This, my friends, is what democracy looks like in America,” Craig said in her opening remarks. “You know, I am just thrilled to be able to be here, but honestly, it came about because I was just a little bit pissed off.”
“Like the rest of us,” an audience member responded.
In early March, Republicans were advised by the party to not hold town halls in the wake of the Trump administration’s cuts, though some have in the weeks since to dramatic results. Later that month, the DFL launched a “Missing Congressman” campaign for Rep. Brad Finstad of the First Congressional District and Rep. Pete Stauber, who represents the Eighth Congressional District.
“With every ounce of fight in me, I’m here to listen, to bring your concerns back to Washington,” Craig said. “Because if your representative won’t show up to listen to you, I sure as hell will.”
Republican Congressman Pete Stauber hosted a telephone town hall on March 24, but has not hosted an in-person event this session of Congress.
Asked whether he would commit to hosting an in-person event during the town hall, Stauber replied, "I'm holding a town hall right now, and for the six-plus years that I've been in Congress, I've held phone town halls, and they've been very successful.
"On average, we get between 6[,000] and 10,000 people on the line at our town halls, and it's a great way for me to get out and talk with my constituents and get the questions answered if they have them."
Stauber answered questions related to federal cuts, mining regulations, impacts on farmers and more during the call.
Democrats who had never been able to come to an in-person town hall hosted by the Republican representative showed up on Monday night, Craig said.
“I was kind of stunned at how many Democrats showed up this evening,” Craig said, explaining she typically gets equal numbers from both parties at her town halls.
“ ... I just asked the open-ended question, ‘How many of you have never been to a town hall before?’ And just about the whole crowd raised their hand. And that’s really concerning, when you think about, your job is to represent your whole community, even if they didn’t vote for you.”
Craig frequently highlighted her bipartisanship and evenly split district throughout the night. She appeared to try to position herself as a solid-blue Democrat, but also a moderate who isn’t defined by her party.
“My district leans about 1 percentage point Democrat, that’s where it leans naturally. I won my last race by nearly 14 percentage points. Seventeen percent of Trump’s voters voted for me,” Craig said. “And by the way, that’s the same percentage that my friend Alex, you probably know her by AOC, that’s probably the same percentage she gets of Trump voters.”
Craig also pointed out that she was “not Joe Biden’s favorite Democrat,” and that she’s co-author of a bill with Stauber.
The congresswoman said Monday she is strongly considering running for retiring Sen. Tina Smith’s seat and said she’ll announce a decision by the end of the month.
“This week is really about getting to those four congressional districts and showing people what a real representative behaves like.”
