Kaela Berg Announces Run for U.S. House in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District

In May 2026, Minnesota state representative Kaela Berg declared her candidacy for the open seat in the state’s 2nd congressional district, which will be vacated by Democrat Angie Craig, who is seeking a Senate seat. Berg, a 30-year flight attendant for Endeavor Air (a Delta subsidiary), will seek the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) endorsement on 9 May and faces a contested primary against state senator Matt Klein and former state senator Matt Little. The district leans Democratic by three points according to the Cook Partisan Voting Index.

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Berg’s bid is part of a broader wave of labor-movement candidates in the 2026 midterms, including smokejumper Sam Forstag (Montana) and ironworker Brian Poindexter (Ohio). The surge follows declining approval for former President Donald Trump, whose rating hovered around 37 % in a recent NBC News poll, and a national affordability crisis—55 % of Americans report worsening finances in a Gallup survey. Concurrently, the Trump administration’s actions to dismantle the National Labor Relations Board and curtail collective-bargaining rights for federal workers have intensified labor activism.

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• Kaela Berg – Minnesota state representative (Saint Paul) and former vice-president of the Endeavor Association of Flight Attendants.

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• Endeavor Association of Flight Attendants – Represents flight attendants at Endeavor Air.

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• Angie Craig – Incumbent Democrat leaving the House to run for Senate.

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• Matt Klein & Matt Little – Primary opponents seeking the DFL endorsement.

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• Other labor candidates – Sam Forstag, Brian Poindexter, organizer Clair Valdez (New York), and firefighter union president Bob Brooks (Pennsylvania).

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• Trump approval: ? 37 % (NBC News poll).

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• Gallup: 55 % of Americans say their financial situation is worsening.

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• Cook PVI for the district: D+3.

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• Berg’s union experience: 30 years as a flight attendant; former vice-president of her union.

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Berg emphasizes universal healthcare, stricter regulation of corporate influence, and reversal of tariffs she attributes to rising consumer costs. She cites the dismantling of the NLRB and attempts to strip collective-bargaining agreements from federal workers as catalysts for her run. In her campaign remarks, Berg condemned the current administration’s immigration enforcement, describing “the violent occupation of ICE agents” in local streets and its impact on the Somali community. The DFL party will allocate 60 % of its delegates on 9 May to endorse a candidate, after which the primary is scheduled for 11 August.

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The sources do not provide polling data specific to Berg’s congressional race, nor quantitative estimates of how Trump-era tariffs have affected household expenses in the district. Additionally, no statements from her primary opponents are included, leaving their policy positions undocumented.

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• “Even as a state legislator, I still live paycheck to paycheck,” — Kaela Berg, Minnesota state representative

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• “These systems are designed to keep working people down.” — Kaela Berg

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• “I got involved in the union in my first year of flying, and really found a home there with the values of solidarity, standing up for each other and fighting against the corporations; it really resonated with me,” — Kaela Berg

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• “We have had a violent occupation of ICE agents in our streets for months on end. They’re still terrorizing our Somali community, especially because of the fraud allegations,” — Kaela Berg

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• “I realized that the things that I had learned as an organizer and a labor leader were really important to take into public service, my whole reason for getting involved in politics was to fight for hard-working families,” — Kaela Berg

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The DFL endorsement vote occurs on 9 May; the Democratic primary follows on 11 August. Should Berg secure the nomination, she will compete in the November 2026 general election for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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