Political Campaigns
See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 2012#District 4After 4th District Congressman Bruce Vento decided not to seek a 13th term due to illness in 2000 (he died before the election), McCollum won the DFL nomination to succeed him. The district is heavily Democratic (among Minnesota congressional districts, only the neighboring 5th District is considered more Democratic), and Democrats have held the seat since 1949. However, McCollum's main concern wasn't Republican Linda Runbeck, but Independence Party candidate Tom Foley. Foley had previously been county attorney for Ramsey County (almost all of which is in the 4th District) as a Democrat. Many thought that Foley could siphon off enough votes from McCollum to allow Runbeck to sneak up the middle and end the long run of Democratic dominance in the district. However, in the end McCollum defeated Runbeck by a solid 17-point margin, with Foley in a distant third place. Foley only managed to hold McCollum to 48 percent of the vote, making her the only Democrat not to win at least 50 percent of the vote since Democrats began their current run in the district. The district has since reverted to form, and McCollum has been reelected five times without serious opposition.
In 2008, McCollum endorsed Barack Obama for president.
Read more about this topic: Betty McCollum
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