Rep. Chip Cravaack’s two-state family could be campaign issue

by T.W. Budig
ECM Capitol reporter

Republican Eighth Congressional District Congressman Chip Cravaack insists he’s not worried about facing reelection, nor even the possibility of the national Democratic Party targeting his race.

“I kind of look at this way, I’m military guy,” said Cravaack, a 24-year U.S. Navy veteran and pilot.

Republican Eighth Congressional District Congressman Chip Cravaack.

“Nobody is shooting at me. My wing is not on fire. It’s good,” said Cravaack, laughing.

It’s going on a year since Cravaack pulled off one of the biggest upsets nationally in the 2010 election, defeating long-serving Democratic congressman James Oberstar.

A number of Democrats — former state senator Tarryl Clark, Duluth City Council Member Jeff Anderson, former congressman Rick Nolan, among the more prominent — are vying to run against the freshman.

One possible campaign issue has less to do with Washington than New Hampshire.

Cravaack and wife Traci’s recent decision to move their two young sons to New Hampshire to live with their mother, a business executive working in Boston, has caught national attention.

And it caught the attention of Democrats.

New Hampshire Democrats in a tongue-in-cheek manner welcomed the Cravaacks to the state, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also noted the move.

Cravaack, who bought a 2300-square foot home in North Branch after the family left Lindstrom, explains the family’s living arrangements in terms of putting family first.

Because his wife was working in Boston and he dealing with the demands of Washington and travelling in his big congressional district, they relied on a rotation of baby sitters, Cravaack recently explained.

“We had round-the-clock baby sitters taking care of the kids,” he said.

That in itself was an incentive to change, Cravaack explained.

“My worst fear as a father was always that my kids would come home to an empty house,” he said.

“Actually, a worst fear did pop up,” Cravaack said.

While both he and his wife were away from their Lindstrom home, one of his sons fell from a swing and badly bumped his head.

The baby sitter called Traci Cravaack, and Cravaack’s congressional staff was notified.

But the congressman, who was returning to his congressional office in North Branch after a town hall meeting in Cambridge, did not immediately get a phone call because he had his cell phone turned off.

It was his district director, Sheldon Anderson, travelling in the car with Cravaack, who received the emergency call.

“The message I got is 911 has been called, your son is unconscious,” said Cravaack.

The congressman hurried home to find an ambulance at the house.

While their son recovered from the accident, Cravaack and his wife simply could no longer tolerate the their living arrangements, the congressman explained.

“Our family comes first,” he said.

“And I look at it this way, if someone doesn’t vote for me because I’m taking care of my family, then I’m probably not going to be right for them on other issues as well,” said Cravaack.

Prior to running for Congress, Cravaack was a stay-at-home dad.

Carleton College Political Science Professor Steven Schier said in an email that the Cravaack family’s living arrangements could become an issue next election.

It would probably less of an issue if Clark is his Democratic opponent, as Clark has been criticized by Republicans for moving from the 6th Congressional District to the 8th, Schier noted.

The multi-state family issue could work best if redistricting alters the 8th District so that Cravaack has to introduce himself to thousands of new voters, Schier explained.

And it could be intensified if evidence exists that the congressman is not doing his job — missing votes, for instance, he noted.

Cravaack believes he’s pulling his weight.

“I don’t know how I can work harder,” Cravaack said.

He has held 14 town halls in the district, nine teleconference town halls, while his staff has conducted some 110 “mobile office” outreaches, said Cravaack.

“We’re doing things in the district that have never been done before,” he said.

Besides a home in North Branch and in New Hampshire, Cravaack also has a residents in Washington.

Tags: Cravaack, New Hampshire