Democrat defeats GOP lawmaker Paulsen in Minnesota

Democrat Dean Phillips on Tuesday unseated Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.). 

Phillips, a former distilling company executive who later founded a chain of local coffee shops, argued Paulsen was out of touch with the district through a memorable ad portraying Paulsen as Bigfoot hiding from his constituents.

The suburban Minneapolis district is a prime example of the kind of district that Democrats looked to pick up this cycle.{mosads}

Paulsen, a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, tried to portray himself as an independent voice willing to stand up to President Trump in an ad about how he pushed back on the president’s environmental changes that could harm Minnesota’s scenic Boundary Waters.