Not-so-average Joe forges win for iron mining district in most expensive U.S. House race
Issue Date: 11/9/2016
Crisp morning air tightening his breath, the crunch of frosted grass beneath his boots, the 30-year-old Crosby, Minn. native scans the thick wood of the Cuyuna Iron Range from his treetop perch, crosshairs level. For him, this moment is sacred, molded by years of family tradition. He knows what he’s looking for: a flash of brown between the early November brush, the white flag of a deer in retreat.
The shot of his rifle was the only sound in the wood, but deer was not the only thing in Joe Radinovich’s sights season opener weekend.
It was around this time last year when Representative Rick Nolan invited Joe to the Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Opener in Watson, Minn. Joe’s term as the District 10B representative for the Minnesota House had recently come to an end and Nolan was about to embark on what the Star Tribune dubbed the “country’s most expensive U.S. House race.”
“I was tipped off by one of his staff that he was going to ask me to consider coming on board to manage the 2016 campaign,” Joe said. “When we were on the car ride home from Watson, he sprung it on me.”
Home for both Democratic-Farmer-Laborers is the Cuyuna Iron Range, a former iron mining district in north-central Minnesota and the heart of the 8th Congressional District, the seat in congress that Nolan planned to keep. With a constituency motivated by the staunchly polarized presidential election and facing former Republican opponent Stewart Mills, the race wasn’t going to be easy.
“I knew the campaign manager job would be exhausting, but I’d have an opportunity to tackle something new,” Joe said.
Joe called Nolan a few days later to accept his offer.
“Plus,” he added, “I’m very competitive. I like the opportunity to win.”
And win they did. In the wake of sweeping Republican party majorities in the House, Senate and presidency, the Nolan campaign pulled through with just over 2,000 votes to secure Nolan’s third consecutive term representing the Eighth District.
“It feels great,” Joe said. “In winning a close race under difficult circumstances, it’s easy to look back and say all of hard work and important decisions paid off.”
For many of Crosby’s residents, the win was well deserved.
“We thought it was pretty much an honor to pick Joe as his campaign manager,” said Crosby local Dianne Parks. “He’s young and eager.”
Crosby is more than just Joe’s hometown; it’s his inspiration.
“I grew up in a small town, in a working class family.” Joe said. “At their best, my politics and the policies I support are aimed at restoring the promise of America’s middle class.”
Much of the Eighth’s economy is made up of the iron mining industry, but government subsidies on foreign steel have racked up competition for local mines. Now many families in the region are threatened by severe job loss, including Joe’s own.
“For us on the range it’s not so much on the labor end—it’s the shipping, fuel,” said veteran miner and Joe’s uncle, John Radinovich. “Minnesota miners can compete with any country, anywhere when it’s on a level playing field.”
Except they say it hasn’t been a fair game with Chinese steel monopolizing the market and that’s where Nolan came out to bat, according to Parks.
“Where people voted for him the strongest was in Virginia, Minnesota where mining is the [big issue],” Parks said. “That was huge on his agenda. He spent a lot to promote this whole area.”
Once the situation deteriorated, Nolan took immediate action, according to Joe, and personally facilitated a visit from White House Chief Staff Denis McDonough to witness the impacts on the community first-hand.
“When the mines go down, you think it’s just the 300 workers, but it’s not. It affects everyone in the surrounding area,” John Radinovich said. “Some businesses only make engines [for the mines]…It’s just a domino effect. Your whole economic area starts to falter because nobody’s buying anything.”
Mills, an open Trump supporter, even condoned the president-elect’s use of foreign steel for his organization’s infrastructure, according to John Radinovich.
This wasn’t Nolan’s first showdown with Republican candidate Mills, whose family founded hunting, hardware and automotive giant Mills Fleet Farm. The two faced off in Nolan’s second run for the Eighth, where Nolan came away with less than 4,000 votes to keep the U.S. House seat. This go-around, Mills threw $2 million of his own money into the fiery race, a move that could hardly be considered minor kindling.
“We were facing an opponent with the means to fund his entire campaign, so the basic strategy was to exhibit budget discipline,” Joe said. “We created a smart plan at the start and we stuck with it even as things were really tense down the stretch.”
Having generated interest from both sides of the ballot, outside independent groups began financing the campaigns. Combined, the groups spent over $14 million, according to Joe. While the dollars kept pouring in, the Nolan campaign held fast.
“We attempted to be clear as possible about the message that Rick was a champion for working people,” Joe said. “I think it was a very basic but ultimately successful approach the situation.”
As for his plans now, Joe laughed.
“I’m going on a long vacation,” he said. “I’m planning to bring my mountain bike and my hiking gear.”
It would be safe to bet hunting isn’t off his list either.