MINNEAPOLIS — Progressive Democrat Matt Little held Rep. Angie Craig’s congressional seat by defeating Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt on Tuesday, as incumbents mostly held on in Minnesota’s House delegation.

In southern Minnesota, Rep. Brad Finstad was fighting a tough challenge by Democrat Jake Johnson. The race was still too close to call after midnight on Wednesday morning.

Democrats won big in Minnesota and nationally. In Minnesota, Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar, Betty McCollum and Kelly Morrison all won their races, as did Republicans Michelle Fischbach, Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber.

While Craig’s Second District seat had long been seen as politically split, national Democrats saw Little as well positioned to win, and directed more resources toward boosting Johnson’s candidacy.

An unabashed progressive, Little’s candidacy had tested whether the district was ready to move to the left.

Little defeated Pratt with more than 57% of the vote, according to unofficial election night results. He laid out the progressive vision he plans to bring to Congress during his victory speech at the Granite City Food & Brewery in Eagan, where about 100 supporters gathered to support him.

“We’re going to create a livable wage. We’re going to make it easier to join a union, and we’re going to pass a wealth tax on these damn billionaires,” Little said.

Noreen Moore-Ruta, 68, of Eagan said health care and transparency about campaign donations were top priorities as she cast her vote for Little.

“Most of [Little’s] voters are normal people, and that’s important to me,” said Moore-Ruta, a retired special education paraprofessional. She said she became significantly more politically active after President Donald Trump came into office in his first term.

Little’s Tuesday evening victory marked his second win after he emerged as the winner of a tough three-way Democratic primary, in which he had positioned himself as the most progressive candidate in the contest.

Once in the general election, the former Lakeville mayor sought to tie Pratt, who described himself as a “conservative Republican that talks in a very moderate tone,” to Trump, even though the president did not endorse him in the race.

Little drew a firm line against Trump policies like tariffs, immigration policy and the war in Iran. He also warned that Pratt would defend Trump’s agenda at every step if elected to Congress.

Pratt had painted Little as “too extreme” and someone who aligned himself with the democratic socialist arm of the party, even though he does not.

Little made “Medicare for All” and a ban on corporate contributions pillars of his campaign. And his brash style of politics and personal stories connected him to voters in the Second District at a time when they appeared energized by health care and immigration reform.

Little’s political style alone was a major contrast from Pratt’s, a low-key state senator who was often reluctant to go negative on his opponent.

By the end of the night, Pratt said that he knew “this was a race that was going to kind of ride the wave.” He also speculated part of his loss could have been tied to Operation Metro Surge.

“It could be Metro Surge. My opponent was out front, and I was behind the scenes,” Pratt said. “I’m proud of my team. We ran hard, and I’m not looking back thinking we should have done more. We left it all on the floor.”

Pratt told the Minnesota Star Tribune that he congratulated Little on his victory.

In the First District, a winner did not immediately emerge in what has become a tough race between the incumbent Finstad and Johnson, a math teacher from Rochester.

“It’s going to be a tighter race,” Finstad said while heading into his election night watch party in Sleepy Eye. “There’s a peace to knowing that I feel like we left it all on the field.”

While Johnson took the stage to a chant of “Jake, Jake, Jake,” an interview with Finstad, from the Republican’s watch party in Sleepy Eye, played on screen.

“I’m very proud of what we’ve built in southern Minnesota,” Johnson said, before retreating to a room to continue “digging into the numbers.”

Though the Second District was the only open congressional seat, and thus, on paper, supposed to be the most competitive race, the First District became Minnesota’s surprise nail-biter congressional race in the months leading up to Election Day.

In the closing weeks, both parties and outside groups had poured millions of dollars into the race, which Democrats believed they could pick up amid close polling and fundraising between the candidates.

Omar won her race decisively in the Fifth District against Republican John Nagel with more than 76% of the vote, according to unofficial returns.

Her victory comes as she’s been under scrutiny by the Trump administration, which recently sent federal agents to raid her Washington home as part of an investigation into alleged immigration violations.

Omar has maintained her innocence and has fundraised off the raid, and her office said she has seen a “windfall” in donations since.

Omar faced tough Democratic primaries in recent cycles, but she won a five-way contest in August with more than 80% of the vote.

—Christopher Vondracek, Jp Lawrence, Sam Siedow and Josie Albertson-Grove of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this report.

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