Edina Mayor Jim Hovland (D) has suspended his Congressional campaign, saying he will reconsider his options if the 3rd district convention does not choose to endorse a candidate.

Hovland was assumed to be in third place behind attorney Ashwin Madia and state Sen. Terri Bonoff in Democratic-Farmer-Labor delegate counts, a process in which activists caucus and eventually endorse their candidates. All three candidates had pledged to abide by the DFL endorsement process and support the winner of the 3rd district convention on April 12.

“Today I am suspending my campaign for Congress in Minnesota’s Third District,” Hovland said in a statement last week. “I continue to stand by my pledge to support the candidate endorsed by the Third District Convention in April.”

Hovland also said, however, if the party does not endorse anyone at the 3rd district convention, he would re-evaluate his options and possibly get back in the race and compete in a September Democratic primary.

But for now, Bonoff and Madia are left in the Democratic race, and the winner will face state Rep. Erik Paulsen (R) this fall. According to unofficial campaign estimates, the two Democrats are in a very close race with a difference of only a handful of delegates between them.

The open-seat contest seeks to fill the suburban Minneapolis district being vacated by retiring Rep. Jim Ramstad (R).
— Shira Toeplitz