ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack is defending his family’s move out of state last year by disclosing that his older son has autism.

Cravaack faces a tough challenge from Democrat Rick Nolan, whose latest TV ad says Cravaack “isn’t from here and he doesn’t live here anymore.”

Cravaack said Friday that he and his wife, Traci, decided she and their two sons would move to New Hampshire to be close to her job after the older son had a seizure while a babysitter was watching him. The first-term incumbent moved to North Branch.

Nolan campaign manager Mike Misterek says the ad isn’t about Cravaack’s family but about his ties to northeastern Minnesota. Misterek says Cravaack raised similar questions about former Democratic Rep. Jim Oberstar in his 2010 campaign.

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