Collin Peterson has announced he is once again running for re-election to his seat in the House of Representatives for Minnesota's 7th District.
Peterson says after hearing a lot of feedback from many of his constituents, he didn't have many good arguments for not running.
"There's work to do, and I can do the work. I think I know the job, I know how to do it. The sugar beet guys especially were freaked out that I wasn't going to run - we just got them another $285M disaster deal that's going to bail them out of what happened last fall. I just figured, what the heck? Two more years."
Peterson says there are many issues he hopes to work on in another term in the House. He says even though the next Farm Bill isn't up until 2023, work needs to begin on it now. He also says he wants to work on a bill that would figure out a way to offer education for free at two year technical institutions. Peterson says veterans issues, helping small hospitals stay in business, and economic policy that strengthens the agriculture and manufacturing sectors are also on his list. And he says he is uniquely positioned to get these things done in a critical climate.
"If there's anything I can do, I mean, I've probably been the most bi-partisan guy in Congress. And I'm going to work to make sure that it's more than just me doing this, because this is killing the country; all this partisanship, and choosing sides and fighting each other. And that's the other thing I'm going to do - is just try to see if I can help get this country back to normal. And we'll see what happens."
Peterson has represented Minnesota's 7th District since 1991.