Nolan, who served in Congress during the 1970's, hopes to challenge freshman Republican Chip Cravaack. On caucus night he bested fellow Democrats Jeff Anderson and Tarryl Clark. But the trio may be headed to a primary election.

Former 8th District Congressman Jim Oberstar formally endorsed Rick Nolan Monday to unseat first-term GOP Rep. Chip Cravaack this fall. Nolan, the DFL-endorsed candidate, faces a primary in August against former state Sen. Tarryl Clark and former Duluth City Council President Jeff Anderson.

DFL challenger Rick Nolan, rekindling his congressional career 30 years after he last served in the U.S. House, has defeated one-term Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., in one of the most closely watched and expensive U.S. House races in the nation.

The three DFL candidates running for Minnesota's 8th Congressional District debated in Duluth Tuesday often found themselves agreeing on the same policy issues, so they tried to differentiate themselves based on style and experience instead. Tarryl Clark, Rick Nolan and Jeff Anderson will find out next Tuesday who the voters want to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released its first ad in Minnesota Saturday that targets Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack in the 8th District race for Congress -- a day after the National Republican Congressional Committee started running ads against Cravaack's opponent, former U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan.

The race to become the DFL challenger who will try to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack this fall is proving to be costly for the parties involved. Campaign finance reports show Sen. Tarryl Clark has already spent more than three times the total she raised in the first 25 days in July, and Congressman Rick Nolan and former Duluth City Council Member Jeff Anderson have also spent more cash than they've taken in.

Republicans in Minnesota First Congressional District chose Allen Quist over State Senator Mike Parry in Tuesday's primary. Quist is a former state lawmaker whose political comeback continues as he moves on to face incumbent Democrat Tim Walz in November.

In one of the nation's closest congressional races, Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., has released his third-quarter fundraising numbers ahead of next week's filing deadine: $471,000, the most he has netted in a single quarter. Money is pouring into the race from outside the state.