Ellison, McCollum and Kline win handily

None facing a serious challenger, Reps. Keith Ellison (D), Betty McCollum (D) and John Kline (R) will all be returning to Congress after the Associated Press called those contests early Tuesday night. Following heavy losses by Democrats around the country, Kline is expected to ascend to chairman of the House Education Committee as Republicans assume leadership of that chamber.

Ellison hails from the most liberal district in the state, the 5th, and faced a challenge from Republican Joel Demos, an “end-times” pastor who tried to appeal to voters through quirky web ads. Also challenging Ellison was independent Lynne Torgerson, whose diverse platform drew fire for its blunt opposition to “radical Islam.”

With 96 percent of Hennepin County reporting, Ellison garnered 69 percent of the vote, while Demos got 23 percent. Torgerson didn’t fare well, with just 3 percent. Candidate Tom Schrunk also got 3 percent of the vote.

Representing the 4th Congressional District, McCollum faced a challenge by University of St. Thomas professor Teresa Collett, who ran as a Republican. Collett has made a career out of opposing abortion by representing clients in legal challenges at the state and national level. She has been outspoken against homosexuality. The district is the second most Democratic in the state with a D+12 Cook Partisan Voter Index (PVI).

“We will be there when the people rediscover the concepts of free markets and self-reliance,” Collett told supporters in her concession speech Tuesday night. According to TPT’s Eric Eskola, she thanked McCollum for staying on the issues during the campaign. She added, “God is in control, and he will always make something beautiful if we are faithful.”

Kline, although more conservative than his district, has been reelected by double digits in each of his last two contests. The 2nd Congressional District is not the most Republican in the state — that designation goes to the 6th — and according to the Cook Partisan Voter Index, Kline’s district is only R+4. He was challenged by DFLer Shelley Madore who bested Dan Powers in the DFL primary. Madore had been severely underfunded in the contest: Madore raked in $72,000 compared to Kline’s $1.4 million.