Minnesota's 8th District election: What you need to know

(KMSP) - One of the most watched and most expensive congressional races in the country is right here in Minnesota. Rep. Rick Nolan and Stewart Mills are battling to represent Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District for the second time, in a race that could have repercussions all the way to the nation’s capital.

The last time Nolan and Mills faced off two years ago, Nolan, the incumbent Democrat, beat his Republican challenger by just 3,700 votes. Both candidates say this year's election will be neck and neck as well.

"It’s a very tight, very close election,” Nolan told Fox 9. “I think it’s going to go right down to the wire."

"We know the race is still a toss-up, so we are going to have to fight all the way up until Election Day," Mills said.

The 8th Congressional District, which stretches from the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities all the way to the Canadian border, is traditionally a DFL stronghold. But, demographics in the district are changing. Republicans won the seat for two years in 2010 and they believe the time is right to do it again.

That has led to millions in outside money pouring into the race – more than $10 million – to pay for a seemingly endless barrage of campaign ads, making it the most expensive congressional race in the country.

Nolan recently brought in some star power, Vice President Joe Biden, to campaign for him on the North Shore, while Donald Trump has a lot of support in the district which could have a coattail effect for Mills.

"Hillary Clinton is an anchor around Rick Nolan's neck and I think that will benefit me,” Mills said.

When it comes to issues voters in the district care about, health care tops the list, followed by terrorism and taxes.

"Clearly, we need to make some changes to the Affordable Care Act. It put $18 million on the rolls,” Nolan said. “It has done a lot of good, but all the Republicans have done is put 60 measures to repeal the Affordable Care Act."

Many of these are the same issues Nolan and Mills battled over during their last election.

"The Affordable Care Act is failing on its own,” Mills said. “It’s collapsing on its own. It doesn't need to be repealed. What we need is for it to be scrapped and replaced with something that works."

It'll be up to voters to decide who comes out on top in their rematch, but each believes the race will go their way.