In response to a poll released last week by Republicans showing a tight race, Minnesota Rep. Collin C. Peterson’s campaign on Monday released a poll of its own from early September that had found the incumbent with a wider lead.  

The three-week-old survey, shared first with CQ Roll Call, showed the Democratic incumbent up 53 percent to 29 percent over state Sen. Torrey Westrom. Westrom’s poll, conducted Sept. 21-23 by the Tarrance Group, found Peterson with a 5-point lead.  

The Peterson poll also showed the incumbent with a 58 percent favorable rating, with just 19 percent viewing him unfavorably. That survey of 405 likely voters was conducted by Global Strategy Group from Sept. 4-7 with a 4.9-point margin of error. Peterson, a regular top GOP target , represents a district that voted for Mitt Romney by a 10-point margin in 2012, making it one of the most Republican districts held by a Democrat.  

But Peterson’s brand has defied party identification. In 2010, a wave year for the GOP, Peterson won re-election by more than 17 points.  

Both party committees are spending big in the 7th District, a sprawling area that spans nearly the entire western half of the Gopher State. The National Republican Congressional Committee has $3.2 million reserved on Minneapolis-St. Paul broadcast, split between this contest and the neighboring 8th District race. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has $1.5 million reserved in the same market.  

Minnesota’s 7th District is rated Leans Democratic by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.  

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