<div> Two additional candidates in the 2nd District congressional race are creating new political dynamics in what is expected to be a toss-up between incumbent U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Prior Lake, and Republican Tyler Kistner, of Prior Lake. The newly drawn 2nd Congressional District, which goes into effect in 2023 after the November elections, covers the southern Twin Cities metro area and contains all of Dakota County and portions of Scott and Rice counties, plus Le Sueur County. Voters within the newly drawn district will vote for a representative in November. The additional candidates outside of Craign and Kistner are Paula Overby, of the Marijuana Now Party, and Rick Olson, of the Constitutional Conservative Party. None of the parties have more than one candidate registered in the CD2 race, so all four will go straight to the November ballot. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Overby Overby, of Eagan, is running for the second time as a 2nd District candidate. She previously sought the DFL endorsement in the 2nd District in 2014, ran in 2016 as an Independence Party candidate when Republican Jason Lewis won, and ran for U.S. Senate in the DFL primary in 2018 and as a Green Party candidate in 2020. Olson, of Prior Lake, is a former state legislator from Michigan who sought the 2nd District GOP endorsement in 2020. Olson is not on the ballot yet, but he is petitioning to do be. Overby says the Legal Marijuana Now Party has a strategic focus on legalizing responsible adult use of marijuana in Minnesota. “The war on marijuana users has gone on far too long. It’s time to admit that this misguided experiment has failed miserably,” she said. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Overby said marijuana holds a significant place in the growing health care crisis in the U.S. Medical marijuana is available in 36 states and is not available in federal veterans health services. Federal restrictions create intolerable complexity and like all health care, the cost is prohibitive for many, she said. She said passage by the U.S. House of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment Act is more about the federal government getting control of the markets and tax revenue than the needs of the people. “What the federal government needs to do is remove federal restrictions and leave this to the states, which have already taken a very strong lead on this issue,” Overby said. Overby said she supports universal health care, saying it is “something that ought to be a glaring priority in view of the wide-ranging inadequacies revealed by the pandemic.” <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> “The federal government already pays 60% of all health care spending, corporations another 18%. The premiums that we average citizens pay goes to advertising, administrative costs, and investor profits. Too much goes to lobbying and financing campaigns to sustain our convoluted and draconian methods of providing health care.” Overby applauded ending the 20-year occupation of Afghanistan, but pointed out that it had no impact on the size of the military budget. “War is the most environmentally destructive force on the planet,” Overby said, “and the voters in our district deserve the option to vote for a candidate who isn’t bought and paid for by the military industrial complex.” Overby would have taken the place of Legal Marijuana Now Party 2nd District candidate Adam Weeks in 2020 had a special election been allowed. Weeks died of an accidental drug overdose Sept. 21, 43 days before the election. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and lower courts ruled that a special election would not be held since a federal law that U.S. House members are elected in November superseded the state law that called for a special election if a major party candidate died within 79 days of an election. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Olson Former one-term Michigan state Rep. Rick Olson, of Prior Lake, sought the GOP 2nd District nomination in 2020. Olson, who served in the Michigan House from 2010 to 2012, said he has a wealth of experience and diverse personal history. Olson is an attorney and has served as a certified financial planner, agricultural economist, agricultural lender, agricultural cooperative manager and president, business coach, and K-12 school business manager. “I am running for Congress because I am very concerned about where we are as a country right now and where we are going,” Olson said in a press release. “We must take America back from the politicians who lie, spread misinformation and tear us apart based on race, religion, gender or however we are different, or stay silent and fail to call out those who do, so that they can get elected or re-elected.” <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Olson made news on Dec. 16, 2019, when he announced that he supported impeaching President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. He said the political parties that select candidates in endorsement processes or primaries drive their candidates toward the extremes of both parties. Candidates fear they will lose the votes of the party activists unless they pander to the extremists, he said. “This guarantees constant party bickering, deadlocked legislative action and failure to address the really important issues,” Olson said. He said important issues to address are climate change, rising health care costs, preventing the insolvency of Social Security, controlling the skyrocketing national debt, an immigration system that no longer works and the rising inequality in America. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><nbtemplate data-content="eyJhcGlLZXkiOiAiZDgxM2Q5Yzg3NTI3N2IzNWU0YzRmZDM0NTAyMjJkNmQiLCAiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiAiU3Vic2NyaWJlIHRvIE5vcnRoZmllbGQgTmV3cyIsICJldmVudCI6ICJtcF9zdWJzY3JpcHRpb25fYnV0dG9uX2NsaWNrX2V2ZW50IiwgInVybCI6ICJodHRwczovL2FwZzA0Lm5ld3p3YXJlLmNvbS9zczcwdjIvYWRhbXMvY29tbW9uL3RlbXBsYXRlLmpzcD9za2luPXN2aCZpbml0PXN0YXJ0JmluaXRFZGl0aW9uPU5GTiIsICJtZWRpYUlkIjogMTU5MzIwMCwgInRpdGxlIjogIjIgYWRkaXRpb25hbCBjYW5kaWRhdGVzIGNvbXBsaWNhdGUgMm5kIERpc3RyaWN0IHJhY2UifQ==" data-id="MediaPlatformAmplitudeButton"></nbtemplate></div>

Mountain View, CA

Two additional candidates in the 2nd District congressional race are creating new political dynamics in what is expected to be a toss-up between incumbent U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Prior Lake, and Republican Tyler Kistner, of Prior Lake.
                The newly drawn 2nd Congressional District, which goes into effect in 2023 after the November elections, covers the southern Twin Cities metro area and contains all of Dakota County and portions of Scott and Rice counties, plus Le Sueur County. Voters within the newly drawn district will vote...