Austin Erickson’s conversation with Erik Osberg
WADENA, Minn. – Democrat Erik Osberg is challenging Republican Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach for Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District seat.
The Wadena man says he’s been to 15 of the 38 counties in the district since he announced his campaign March 11.
Osberg grew up in Upsala, Minnesota and was a sports reporter and anchor, worked in financial services, started a marketing business and has promoted economic development in rural areas since 2017.
He believes markets need to be stabilized amid what he calls the “uncertainty and chaos” coming from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Flag Family News asked Osberg if he supports the tariffs.
“I understand why they believe they’re a good idea. I don’t know if they’ll have the impact they wish for them to have. If there is short-term pain, who’s the one suffering from that? I don’t want to be sounding evasive, but I think it’s more complicated than a yes or no answer,” Osberg said.
Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District is one of the largest farming districts in the country.
“If our family-owned farms are going to succeed, there going to need a level playing field. It’s not necessarily the federal government’s job to decide who wins or loses. It is nice to know that they have a chance. The mechanisms with which we accomplish that, I don’t have that off the top of my head at the moment,” Osberg explained.
Osberg will speak at the Clay County DFL Convention at Comstock Memorial Union at Minnesota State University Moorhead on April 26. The event begins at 2:00 PM.
Fischbach defeated AJ Peters by 41.1 percent of the vote in the 2024 election. In her announcement for another campaign last month, she called it a new day in Washington with President Trump in The White House and Republican majorities in the House and Senate.
“We have been given an opportunity by voters to do the things that are needed to save our great nation. I launched my campaign in 2020 to push for stronger rural communities by cutting federal spending, rolling back burdensome regulations, and defending individual rights. We’re seeing these priorities being put into action under the America First agenda, and I want to continue working as the advocate for western Minnesota,” Fischbach said.
