Westrom made stops in Moorhead and his hometown of Elbow Lake on Thursday to announce the campaign, which he had been mulling for weeks. National Republicans have been eager to field a strong candidate to run against Peterson, who they say is vulnerable in 2014 over the botched rollout of the Affordable Care Act.

U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson has picked up another Republican challenger in the 7th Congressional District in western Minnesota. State Sen. Gretchen Hoffman, R-Vergas, has announced her plans to challenge the conservative Democrat. Her announcement resolves the conflict that arose when the Senate districts were redrawn to put Hoffman and fellow Senate Republican Bill Ingebrigtsen of Alexandria in the same district.

The long-awaited GOP map reshaping the state's Congressional districts was released Monday, and shows Republicans trying to protect newest House GOP star Chip Cravaack while isolating other DFL strongholds.