Pete Stauber leads Jen Schultz in 8th Congressional District rematch
DULUTH — Incumbent U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber was leading DFL challenger Jen Schultz in an 8th Congressional District rematch.
The Hermantown Republican had a 64.83% to 35.09% advantage over the former state legislator from Duluth, with 23.62% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Nov. 5.
Stauber, 58, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, is seeking his fourth two-year term in Congress. He is a former professional hockey player, Duluth police officer, business owner and St. Louis County commissioner.
Schultz, 53, is an economist and professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2015-23.
The race featured many familiar issues from the 2022 campaign, which Stauber won with 57% of the vote.
The congressman has heavily focused on advocacy for mining and energy while criticizing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for inflation, government spending and issues at the southern border.
The DFL candidate, meanwhile, campaigned on strengthening the middle class, protecting access to health care and preserving democracy — criticizing Stauber as an ineffective congressman who puts politics above policy.
Stauber currently chairs the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, providing oversight of oil, gas, wind, solar and mining projects nationwide.
He has criticized the administration for policies on mining and oil drilling and sponsored legislation that passed the GOP-controlled House to overturn a ban on copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
The congressman has made four trips in office to the U.S.-Mexico border, highlighting what he has called a "humanitarian and organized crime" crisis that is allowing criminals and fentanyl to flow into the country.
Schultz, though, has criticized him for voting against legislation that she said would help average Americans, from price gouging to a cap on insulin costs. Notably, Stauber in January touted his efforts to secure a $1 billion grant for the construction of a new Blatnik Bridge between Duluth and Superior after voting against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that funded it.
The DFLer has also slammed his vote against further funding for Ukraine in its defense of the Russian invasion, as well co-sponsoring legislation that would federally ban abortions after 15 weeks and potentially threaten in vitro fertilization.
Long a DFL stronghold, the 8th District emerged as one of the nation's most competitive and expensive races last decade, flipping parties three times between 2010-18. But the northeastern Minnesota seat is no longer considered a national bellwether by political analysts, with Stauber the first Republican to win reelection since the 1940s.
The district includes all or parts of 21 counties, including all seven Anishinaabe reservations in Minnesota. While Duluth remains heavily Democratic, the once-reliably blue Iron Range has undergone a major shift in recent cycles, and the district has grown to include more conservative-leaning rural areas.
Members of Congress make $174,000 per year.
