Collin Clark Peterson was born on June 29, 1944, and is the U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 7th congressional district. He has been serving since 1991. He is a member of the Democratic Farmer Labor Party, and is the dean of the Minnesota congressional delegation. He is also a member of the house Agriculture Committee. Minnesota’s district that he serves in includes Moorhead, Fergus Falls, Bemidji, Detroit Lakes, Thief River Falls, Willmar, and Alexandria.
In 1984, he ran for Minnesota’s 7th congressional district in Northwestern Minnesota, held by Republican Arlan Stangeland. Peterson lost 57%-43%. In 1986, he ran in a rematch and narrowly lost by just 121 votes.
In 1988, he ran again but lost in the DFL primary to State Senator Mary Hanson 55%-45%. In 1990, he ran for a fourth time and won the primary. In the general election, he finally defeated seven-term Stangeland 54%-46%. In 1992, he narrowly won re-election by a 50–49% margin against former State Representative Bernie Omann.
In a 1994 rematch, Peterson won again by a 51–49% margin, despite the Republican Revolution. In 1996, he won re-election with 68% of the vote, and won every county in the CD. In 1998, he won re-election with 72% of the vote.
In 2010, Peterson survived another Republican wave election. This time, he defeated Lee Byberg 55%-38%, his worst election performance since 1994.

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