Pete Stauber leads Jen Schultz in 8th Congressional District rematch – Duluth News Tribune

DULUTH – Incumbent U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber led DFL challenger Jen Schultz in a rematch in the 8th Congressional District.

The Hermantown Republican held a 64.83% to 35.09% lead over the former state lawmaker from Duluth, with 23.62% of precincts reporting as of Tuesday evening, 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 ice 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 to 2023.

The race included many familiar themes from the 2022 election campaign, which Stauber won with 57% of the vote.

Clint Austin/Duluth Media Group

The congressman has focused heavily on mining and energy advocacy while criticizing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over inflation, government spending and problems at the southern border.

Contributed / Amanda J. Cane

The DFL candidate, meanwhile, campaigned on strengthening the middle class, protecting access to health care and preserving democracy, while criticizing Stauber as an ineffective congressman who puts politics above politics.

Stauber is currently chairman of the House Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee and oversees oil, gas, wind, solar and mining projects nationwide.

He criticized the administration for its policies on mining and oil drilling and supported legislation passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to lift a ban on copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The congressman made four trips to the U.S.-Mexico border during his term, citing what he described as a “humanitarian and organized crime crisis” that is allowing criminals and fentanyl to enter the country.

But Schultz has criticized him for voting against legislation that she said would help the average American, from price gouging to a cap on insulin costs. Notably, Stauber in January praised his efforts to secure a $1 billion grant to build a new Blatnik Bridge between Duluth and Superior after voting against the bipartisan infrastructure bill that funded it.

The DFLer also sharply criticized his vote against further funding Ukraine to defend Russia's invasion and also supported a bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks at the federal level and potentially endanger in-vitro fertilization.

Long a DFL stronghold, the 8th District has become one of the most competitive and expensive races in the country over the past decade, switching parties three times between 2010 and 2018. But the northeastern Minnesota seat is no longer viewed by political analysts as a national frontrunner because Stauber is the first Republican to be reelected 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 transformation in recent cycles, and the district has grown to include more conservative-leaning rural areas.

Members of Congress earn $174,000 per year.

Clint Austin/Duluth Media Group

Tom Olsen has covered crime and courts and the 8th Congressional District for the Duluth News Tribune since 2013. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Duluth and a lifelong resident of the city. Readers can contact Olsen at 218-723-5333 or [email protected].