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“Angie Craig has been a fierce advocate for Minnesota families from day one in Congress. During her tenure, she has fought to reform how Washington works and lower the cost of health care. In addition to her impressive legislative accomplishments, Angie has been active in engaging with her constituents on the ground – meeting them where they are and listening to their needs. Angie is the type of leader we need in Congress – someone who understands the value of hard work and is dedicated to making life easier for the middle class. Meanwhile, her opponent Tyler Kistner is a special interest-funded politician only out for himself. I am proud to serve with Angie and I’m confident voters will send her back to Congress to continue fighting for Minnesota,” said DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Matt Corridoni
Date: August 9, 2022
Subject: The Case Against Tyler Kistner
Tonight’s primary sets up a clear choice between Congresswoman Angie Craig, who has an impressive track record of fighting for working families and delivering results, and Tyler Kistner, who is only out for himself and can’t be trusted to put Minnesotans first.
Since being elected to Congress, Angie Craig has put the priorities of her constituents first. She has fought tirelessly to lower health care and out-of-pocket costs, advocating for Medicare to be able to negotiate drug prices and writing the bill to cap the cost of insulin. And she helped end the “family glitch” in the Affordable Care Act, bringing down health care costs for thousands of Minnesotans. She has also worked to reform Washington and end corruption, pushing to prevent members of Congress from becoming lobbyists and ban the use of taxpayer dollars on first-class flights.
Congresswoman Craig has dedicated time and energy meeting her constituents where they are and addressing their concerns directly – hosting dozens of town halls across the Second District, meeting with over 15,000 Minnesotans. Congresswoman Craig isn’t just hearing the concerns of Minnesota voters; she’s lifting their voices up in Washington and delivering results.
Compare this to Tyler Kistner. Kistner has shown he’ll stand with the most extreme fringes of his party if it helps him score political points. After his first failed campaign, Kistner spent months desperately clinging to the Big Lie and pushing false claims of voter fraud. This time around, Kistner has continued to prove how out of touch he is with Minnesotans. He supported the end of Roe v. Wade and believes states should be able to ban abortion even in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother. And throughout his years of running for office, Kistner has appeared to break federal law by lining his own pockets with campaign cash.
And when it comes to lowering costs and protecting families, Kistner has refused to support measures to cap insulin costs and empower Medicare to negotiate drug prices. He’ll always side with Big Pharma and the insurance companies, not hardworking Minnesotans. Minnesota can’t afford to trade in a champion for the middle class like Angie Craig for a corrupt politician who is more interested in personal gain than helping working families.
TYLER KISTNER WON’T WORK TO LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS
Tyler Kistner would have voted against capping the cost of insulin at $35 and is opposed to allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices to lower costs for Minnesotans. Kistner has a history of siding with the insurance companies over patients, saying he’d repeal the Affordable Care Act and oppose Medicaid expansion. What does Kistner support? In addition to Big Pharma and the insurance companies, he’s a fan of the 2017 Republican Tax Scam that would harm working class Minnesotians.
TYLER KISTNER IS TOO CORRUPT TO SERVE IN CONGRESS
Kistner paid himself thousands of dollars from his campaign through abnormally high mileage reimbursements, potentially violating laws against converting campaign dollars for personal use. Kistner refused to come clean and release logs to verify these exorbitant payments that amount to driving “the width of the United States more than 16 times.” Despite having his shady scheme called out by numerous ethics experts and facing a federal ethics complaint, Kistner has continued to pocket thousands of dollars from his campaign.
TYLER KISTNER IS TOO RADICAL FOR MINNESOTA
Even in the wake of deadly mass shootings involving school children, Tyler Kistner wouldn’t support any reforms to combat gun violence. He supported overturning Roe v. Wade and wants to allow states to ban abortion with no exceptions. Kistner even embraced The Big Lie and tried to halt certification of Minnesota’s election results.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
The American Independent: Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig stands up to Big Pharma in fight for affordable drugs [American Independent, 8/4/22]
MPR News: “My Republican opponent here in the 2nd would have voted against the infrastructure bill. My Republican opponent would have voted against capping the cost of insulin at $35. He would never have supported allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. He would never support any changes to our gun laws,” Craig said. “He wouldn’t stand up and say, ‘No, Roe v. Wade is actual precedent, 50 years, it’s not going to get changed.’” Asked for his response during an interview before his Lakeville appearance, Kistner did not dispute any of Craig’s claims. [MPR, 6/13/22]
Star Tribune: ‘That’s a lot’: Watchdogs say Tyler Kistner’s campaign mileage reimbursements raise questions [Star Tribune, 11/17/21]
PATH TO VICTORY
After redistricting, this seat became a Biden +7.4 and one that Democratic House candidates would have won in both 2020 and 2018. This cycle, Democrats in Minnesota will be mobilizing not just at the congressional level, but at the top of the ticket as well for a competitive governor’s race.
A highly educated district, the new Minnesota 2nd is slightly younger and slightly more diverse in population after redistricting. The district remains entirely within the Minneapolis-St Paul media market, making Craig’s impressive fundraising abilities an asset when needing to communicate.
Democrats will be investing resources and energy into keeping this seat blue. This is a rematch with a weak Republican candidate running in a less favorable district makeup and lacking the fundraising advantage needed to communicate.
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