Wow, dj, I had no knowledge of the details of that race, but losing “safe” House seats often follows presidential elections. Didn’t the Dems temporarily lose one in MN in 1977 too?
Those losses are now few and far between. Apparently, too, Ossoff isn’t even a resident of the 6th district (although one need only be a resident of the state, not being a resident of the district isn’t an endearing factor to the voters).
As for MN, yes, when Carter made Bob Bergland the Sec of Agriculture, the GOP did pick up his seat with Arlan Stangeland (who in turn was defeated by the present seatholder, Collin C. Peterson in 1990). However, it’s worth pointing out that Bergland held a Republican-leaning seat and Stangeland defeated the DFL candidate by nearly 21%.
From 1944 until 1990, only Bergland and the famous Coya Knutson (the 1st woman elected to federal office in MN) were the sole Dems elected in this district (and Knutson fell after just two terms).