Republican congressional candidate Joe Teirab announced on Wednesday that he has received the endorsement of the Minnesota Fraternal Order of Police (MN FOP). No doubt a boost to Teirab’s candidacy, the endorsement is one of several the police group has made in favor of GOP candidates in recent days.
“The Minnesota Fraternal Order of Police is happy to announce our endorsement for Joe Teirab,” said the MN FOP in a statement. “Joe’s commitment of supporting law enforcement has been evident in his work as a state and federal prosecutor. Joe’s commitment to supporting law enforcement both nationwide and right here in Minnesota resonated with the members of the Minnesota Fraternal Order of Police, resulting in this endorsement.”
The MN FOP is the state arm of the national Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) organization. Teirab, a former federal prosecutor and U.S. Marine, is running to win a Minnesota seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I am beyond humbled to have the endorsement of the Minnesota Fraternal Order of Police,” Teirab said in a statement. “My highest honor as a prosecutor was getting to work side-by-side with law enforcement to hold criminals accountable. It saddens me when I hear from police officers who feel they have been let down by their current elected officials. We can do better. Law enforcement will have my unwavering support when I am in Congress.”
Recent polling
Attempting to unseat Democratic Congresswoman Angie Craig, Teirab is facing headwinds in his bid to win Minnesota’s Second Congressional District.
Rep. Craig has won the south metro area district three times, has raised more money than Teirab, has received a key endorsement from the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA), and has recently seen her polling numbers outperform Teirab’s.
Last week, a KSTP/SurveyUSA poll showed Craig leading in the race for the district by 8 points. The poll, which surveyed 556 likely voters in the district, also showed Craig leading amongst men by 4 points. Additionally, Craig leads amongst women by 13 points.
Democrats typically win female voters overall by sizeable margins. As such, Republicans generally need to run up their margins amongst men in order to be competitive. The fact that Craig possesses not only a lead in the overall poll, but also has a lead amongst likely male voters, could be concerning for the Teirab campaign.
Additionally, the poll shows Craig has a higher favorability rating than Teirab.
When asked about their opinion of Teirab, 29% of those surveyed in the KSTP/SurveyUSA poll said they have a favorable view of the GOP candidate. Meanwhile, 27% said they had an unfavorable view, and the remaining individuals were either neutral or had no opinion. As such, Teirab’s favorability rating is +2.
Conversely, 47% of those surveyed in the same poll said they had a favorable view of Craig. Another 28% said they had an unfavorable view, and the remaining individuals were either neutral or had no opinion, meaning Craig’s favorability rating is +19.
Despite this, the Teirab campaign believes the poll does offer some encouraging signs for their campaign and Republicans in the district.
The KSTP/SurveyUSA poll has former President Donald Trump trailing Vice President Kamala Harris in the south metro district by just two points (47%-45%). Given the poll’s large 5.4% margin of error, Trump could potentially be leading in the district. As such, the Teirab campaign feels that Trump’s numbers, and the enthusiasm the former president brings, will be enough to put Teirab over the top in the race for the district.
“This is very clearly a close race,” said Teirab. “I know this from conversations I’m having every single day with voters who are fed up with the status quo that has led us to record high inflation, a wide open southern border, a crime continuing to plague our communities. A lot of the problems the current political class has created defies common sense, and folks know we need to make a change if we’re going to keep the American Dream alive.”
Furthermore, the Teirab campaign says that Craig’s constant attacks are evidence that she knows the race is close, and she is taking the race seriously.
“As I like to say, if you’re taking flack, you’re over the target,” said Teirab. “Angie Craig has been launching attack ad after attack ad on me, and she wouldn’t be doing that if she felt like she had a comfortable lead. She’s attacking me because she knows she’s vulnerable and because she can’t run on her record of failures.”
While many may take the KSTP/SurveyUSA poll as a sign that this congressional race is over, history is full of examples of polls getting it wrong. As a matter of fact, one of those situations occurred in Minnesota’s Second District just a few years ago.
Back in mid-October 2016, another KSTP/SurveyUSA poll found Craig leading then-Republican candidate Jason Lewis by 5 points in her first bid for Congress. Despite this polling advantage, Lewis ended up beating Craig by nearly 2 points.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
