MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democrats are watching a northeastern Minnesota race as one of their top chances for a pickup in the U.S. House.

Rick Nolan is trying to reclaim a seat his party lost in an upset two years ago. Republican Chip Cravaack is trying to prove he was more than lucky when he beat an 18-term Democrat in his first run for office.

Cravaack is a former Northwest Airlines pilot who played up his union past and his activism on regional issues. Nolan made Cravaack’s support for Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan an issue as he sought to return to Congress more than three decades after last serving.

Elsewhere, Republican Michele Bachmann faced a tougher than expected fight from wealthy businessman Jim Graves as she sought a fourth term.

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