going statewide
Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District Delegates showed up & showed out at the State DFL Convention in Rochester, MN.
What a weekend.
I saw a shirt one time that said Democracy isn’t a spectator sport. We’ve talked all campaign about how we believe the work is the reward. The 2026 Minnesota DFL State Convention took effort, energy & patience. Here’s the good news, I believe we walked out of there as a more unified group. I’m not saying 100% in agreement on everything. Voices were heard. Choices were considered. And choices were made. We endorsed Sen. Amy Klobuchar for Governor. CD-7’s own Ben Schierer for Lt. Governor. Speaking of Lt. Gov’s. Peggy Flanagan was endorsed for Senate. Zack Filipovich was endorsed for State Auditor Kudos to Dan Wolgamott & Adam Jennings on very gracious concession speeches. As an already DFL endorsed candidate for Congress, I was allowed to address the crowd as well. In fact, I got to speak Friday night & Saturday. My goal Friday night was to convince the state that this is a winnable race. Fun fact: a DFLer has held this seat for 30 years out of the last 36 years, that’s over 83% of the time. Voters here have voted DFL before & seem ready to do it again. They are looking for common sense solutions, civility & decency. They are looking for a representative who shows up & listens. They are looking for someone to restore checks & balances in Washington D.C. We believe this is the campaign that can do that.
The rural revival is real
On Saturday, I was joined by 30ish delegates from MN’s 7th on the stage following Peggy Flanagan’s acceptance speech. Video to come. During that speech I laid out our 5 point plan:
- Constitutional Concerns – defending the Constitutional rights for all
- Campaign Finance Reform – getting corporate money out of politics
- Health Care Reform – treating health care like a human right, not a privilege
- Public Education – protecting & expanding federal funding for local schools
- Agriculture – getting markets back & ending the chaos that is jacking up input costs
That was a moment that we will savor for a long time. That moment started before the precinct caucuses. So proud of the effort our team put into the process. Trainings, thousands of phone calls, and postcards. Then came county convention season. Once again, our team kept their heads down and focused on the work. So glad those people were able to experience that moment. They earned it.
We are dialing in a new process for the final 5 months of this campaign. Our Mission, Vision & Values will continue to guide us. We will continue to outwork our competition. We will continue to show up.
Our current Congressperson continues to follow rather than lead. They will continue to meet for photo ops in private, and they continue to take the career politician approach. Hopefully, they will continue to underestimate us.
The rural revival is real folks. So much so that we made a statewide splash this weekend. Help us take this movement nationwide, donate today.
A Look Ahead
As the temperature heats up, so does our campaign. There are plenty of festivals, county fairs, and parades coming up over the next few months. Here’s a few of our upcoming events. Events with links are to sign up via Mobilize:
June. 5th – Humphrey Mondale Dinner– Minneapolis
June. 6th – House Party – Minneapolis
June 7th – Team Erik at Bandwagon Days Parade – Russell
June 7th – Pride in the Park – Detroit Lakes
June 8th – Alexandria meet-n-greet – Elbow Lake
June 10th – Chippewa County CommUNITY Fish Fry – Montevideo
June 11 – House Party – Wadena
A Look Back
On Tuesday of last week, we held our 2nd virtual volunteer summit. In total, over 150 people attended our 2 summits as this team, this movement, continues to grow. We also unveiled our new field strategy: Operation B.A.R.N. Raising (BARN stands for Building a Rural Network) which is a community-based operation focused on knocking 100,000 doors and making 100,000 phone calls.
– A barn raising is a historic and communal practice in which a community gathers to collectively build or rebuild a barn for one of its members. Requiring heavy labor that an individual family cannot easily provide alone, the event relies on synchronized teamwork and concludes with a shared feast.
This is the type of community involvement we’re looking for, and so far, the response has been amazing, we’re now up to 550 people that have signed up to volunteer! We’re going to need that kind of support to win this race, but we’re also going to need financial support.
Filed at the office of the Minnesota Secretary of State
It’s official! On Wednesday of last week, Erik made a trip to the Twin Cities to pick up some yard signs & stopped by the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State to take care of some paperwork. We’ve been campaigning for 447 days. We are now an official campaign for Congress in Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District. Huge thanks to all those who have helped along this quest.
WE>ME Dan S. and Evan M. working the booth at the State DFL Convention
As mentioned above, the State DFL Convention was this past weekend. Wanted to give a quick shoutout to our Field Director Evan M. and our Treasurer Dan S. There are dozens, if not hundreds of people who helped make this weekend at the State DFL Convention a success for this campaign, but Evan played a pivotal role. He worked the booth tirelessly from start to finish. From set up to tear down. Dan pulled double/triple duty. He was a delegate/alternate and lent a hand in many other areas including but not limited to booth-tending & delegate transportation. Dan is also an early adapter as this campaign would have never gotten off the ground had he not stepped up to be our Treasurer back in February 2025. Huge thanks to all those who chipped in, forever grateful.
Swag store is open!
Wondering how to get a yard sign? A We can do better t-shirt? Sweatshirt? Coffee mug? Happy to announce our swag store is now open. All products are union made right here in the U.S.A.!
Go to store.erikosberg4congress.com to place your order today. Or find the link on our website erikosberg.com
Please note, this ain’t Amazon. Orders will ship in 7-10 days. You should get a receipt when the order is placed & a tracking number once your order is shipped. Orders are considered a campaign donation, so be mindful of the $3,500 limit per individual.
You can help the campaign financially and get cool gear at the same time.
Our swag store is open: store.erikosberg4congress.com
Actions you can take
We’re committed to investing our campaign dollars into people power. In May, we added two new full-time staff members. We’d love to add two more to give us the capacity to reach as many voters across the district as possible. Your financial support can help us secure more boots on the ground. Please give what you can today: https://secure.actblue.com/
We have well over 550 volunteers already signed up, and we are gonna need more. And we’re just getting started. Join the movement to help us Do Better: https://www.
Host a House Party
House parties are a great way to organize in your local community and help to raise funds and recruit volunteers in a comfortable setting. You can either invite neighbors, family, and friends or ask us to invite local supporters and friends-to-be. To get more information on hosting a house party, contact Gary Osberg: gary@erikosberg4congress.com or (320)293-6771.
Spread the word
Forward this email to a friend. Invite a friend, relative, or otherwise to be a part of this movement.
With gratitude,
Erik
