A Delta Air Lines regional flight attendant is running for Congress. Kaela Berg is a Minnesota state repreentative and a 22-year crewmember at wholly-owned Endeavor Air. She’s profiled this weekend in the New York Times. Here’s what the Times won’t tell you about her campaign.
Minnesota listed her as a flight attendant when she was first elected in 2020. Her 2021-22 session record still used that title. For the 2023-24 and 2025-26 sessions, the Legislature lists her occupation as ‘independent labor consultant’. She is still publicly running on the flight attendant identity but she seems to be primarily a politician and activist now, though she reportedly still flies. (She can be both with some accommodation – most legislators in Minnesota consider the job part-time and she takes a leave of absence while the legislature is in session.)
She has built a political brand around being a working flight attendant while serving in office. And she emphasizes labor issues. She was a Bernie Sanders delegate in 2016. She supported adding flight crews to Minnesota’s earned sick and safe time law. More broadly she runs as a left of center populist focused on cost of living issues (groceries, health care, housing, and utilities), ‘taxing hte rich’, education and abortion. She’s endorsed by her union, Sara Nelson’s AFA-CWA.
She patrolled local for ICE agents and posted video of herself using a whistle to warn residents them nearby and honking. She wrote, “We will not let them operate in silence or without witnesses,”
This is the reality of what it is like in Minnesota right now. The district I represent in Burnsville is one of the most targeted communities in the state. There are ICE agents everywhere. We will not let them operate in silence or without witnesses. pic.twitter.com/HKLpgidE93
— Kaela Berg (@kaelaberg) January 19, 2026
She calls concerns about men in women’s prisons as “right-wing propaganda.”
Berg believes airline consolidation made fares expensive but while consolidation arguably hasn’t been pro-consumer (although financially stable airlines may on net be!), the long-run trend in airfares inclusive of fees is actually down. She also believes you shouldn’t fly with bare feet, so I may move to Minnesota and register so that I can vote for her.
So what her chances? Better in a general election if she can make it there.
- She closed 2025 with $53,162 cash on hand after raising $132,117. Two opponents did much better: Matt Klein closed with $328,327 after raising $565,209 and carrying no debt. Matt Little closed with $390,955 after raising $583,844, while showing $155,000 in debt.
- Berg pulled just 6.68% in a party straw poll, well behind Little at 43.29% and Klein at 20.97%. I haven’t been able to find public opinion polling in the race.
If she manages the nomination, Minnesota’s 2nd congressional district – in the south Twin Cities suburbs (old Northwest headquarters in Eagan) – is currently an open seat, with Angie Craig vacating to run for Senate. It’s leans Democratic (+3). And has shifted towards the D column from being more of a toss-up (55.5% in 2024, 50.9%, and a Dem seat in 2022 with 48.2%).
There are a lot of nutty lefty teachers, nutty lefty flight attendants, nutty lefty islamists, nutty lefty gays, and nutty lefty politicians, so why should more nuts surprise us any more.
Glad she’s running. We need more workers to run for office. Wishing Kaela and Minnesota the best!
(Haters gon hate…)
Sounds like a total moron that knows nothing about life. Of course, has zero interest in all the Somalian fraud.
@George Nathan Romey — What a calm and rational comment, like usual.
Please, all of you who feel this way, do tell your flight attendants, explicitly, and ideally before beverage and meals.
*clears throat*
Will she run on Fair Wages Living Wagee? FA are professionals. They should have pay equal or close to a mainline co-pilot, even if the FA works for a regional carrier? FAs should get $150,000 per year? $150k is a living wage, barely, in NYC.
How to pay for it? Tax the Rich. Tax the non-basic economy passenger. 91% income tax for the Rich?
Glad she’s using her minimum overnight to rest before her safety-related duties. Since as a proud AFA member she’s primarily here for our safety so happy to see taking that of the utmost importance while working. I’m sure those campaign calls and emails after a 3am arrival (as profiled in the NYT piece) were restful!
One problem with Congress is there are a lot of members in both parties that are simply unqualified to run the economy.
Lucky reposting this to OMaaT in 3, 2, 1….
“How to pay for it? Tax the Rich. Tax the non-basic economy passenger. 91% income tax for the Rich?”
“One problem with Congress is there are a lot of members in both parties that are simply unqualified to run the economy.”
These are the type of comments you hope are presented as satire; sadly, they’re not.
@Thomas — What is the coordination between Boarding Area affiliates?
@Mike P — We know… you hate ‘government’ and want chaos. *yawn*
Has the left wing Lunatic sponsored a criminal illegal family, or is she merely spewing the BS?
@1990…We know you’re incapable of anything other than a mindless strawman. *Yawn!*
Well, congress has a bartender, they need a waitress too.
Hope she ends up like that terrorist, goode.
She will simply be one in a long line of idiots elected by MN voters. Not that other states are much better.
I doubt flyers will miss her in the cabin and she will be easily replaced.
Who’d you prefer to represent you? Rather an inexperienced FA than some ventriloquist’s dummy operated by a corporate lobbyist, like 90% of the US “government”
Her policies sound pretty agreeable overall: grocery prices, standard of living, no anonymous thugs in uniform dragging people off to prison without due process. And funny how the richest people in the nation pay almost no personal taxes despite being insanely wealthy. She’s trying to fix that? Good. Sounds like she’s trying to restore the freedom loving America we grew up in and loved.
Genuinely the worst thing about this travel news website is that it’s only like 70% actual travel news and then 30% just Gary shilling his right-wing opinions about economic policy and labor unions.
All she has to do now is pose for a photograph, in uniform and use it in an advertisement for her campaign. Buh bye!
@Z – first it’s not a ‘travel news website’ it’s ‘my website’ and I do not see what right wing opinion I’ve offered here?
Sounds like a good choice for Congress.
Mike P: No worries! Taxing the rich won’t cost you a dime. In fact, you would benefit. Imagine being against something that would actually HELP you. This is one of those things you hope will make you “in” with the popular kids, right?
I knew this story would bring out the right wing nut cases. They’re fine with the criminal running Washington, but complained about a flight attendant. Give me a break.
Gary – long time reader first time writer. love the site and all of the intriguing points of view you present. Really entertaining read. Keep crushing it.
Men in womens prisons. Ok.
Another woke Karen screaming for attention. I dug deeper into her campaign and found some of her top priorities: More taxes AND higher taxes, Kill the babies, Defund the police, Ignore Somali fraud, Yes to tampons in boy’s bathrooms, No capture or prosecution of criminal illegal aliens (ever, for anything, even murder and rape). Minnesota sounds like a living hell.
@1990 is right. We need more actual working people in Congress & fewer lawyers (I am a lawyer). I disagree with almost all of her views, but the idea is solid.