Ex-FBI Agent Is Minnesota’s Newest Congressional Candidate

ISANTI, MN — Rep. Rick Nolan will face a challenger from a member of his own party in the 2018 race for his northern Minnesota district. After working for nearly a decade in national security, Leah Phifer announced Sunday that she will seek the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) endorsement to represent Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District.

In 2016, Nolan, a Democrat, won a third term even as Republican President Donald Trump won a majority of votes in the district.

Phifer, a 33-year-old native of Two Harbors currently living in Isanti, began her career in national security at the Department of Homeland Security in 2008 before working in counter-terrorism for the FBI in Minneapolis. She left the FBI in May 2017 to explore a run for Congress.

“Throughout my career, I’ve learned national security is more than protecting Americans from threats abroad,” Phifer said in a statement. “Our nation isn’t secure if our citizens lack reliable access to healthcare, food and housing.”

Phifer said she decided to run after seeing political partisanship threaten the effectiveness of policies, values, and safety. She spent this past summer on a district-wide listening tour, logging more than 7,000 miles on her motorcycle.

Phifer saw strong political divisions on her tour – even people in her own party. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Minnesota Patch, click here to find your local Minnesota Patch. Also, follow us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

“The DFL base in the district is hurting right now,” Phifer noted. “We’re still healing from the 2016 election and now we’re faced with some significant proposals that are pitting people against one another.”

These issues include controversial proposals for two copper-nickel mines on the Iron Range, as well as the Enbridge Line replacement project, Phifer said.

“It’s our responsibility to work through these differences, unify and put forth the best possible candidate in November 2018. That’s why I’ve decided to seek and respect the DFL endorsement – it’s up to us to find the best path forward.”

Image via Leah Phifer For Congress