DULUTH 鈥� Incumbent U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber won reelection to Minnesota's 8th Congressional District after a rematch with DFL challenger Jen Schultz.
The Hermantown Republican had a 60.14% to 39.74% advantage over the former state legislator from Duluth, with 84.41% of precincts reporting at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
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Stauber, 58, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, will return to Congress for his fourth two-year term. He is a former professional hockey player, Duluth police officer, business owner and St. Louis County commissioner.
鈥淲e have a long night ahead to see if President Trump will win," Stauber said in a statement early Wednesday, "but I鈥檝e heard the voters loud and clear: They are fed up with skyrocketing prices, an open southern border, and chaos abroad.
"I look forward to turning the page on the past four disastrous years and hopefully working alongside President Trump to put America first and get our economy moving again by becoming energy and critical mineral dominant. We must close the southern border and restore our standing in the world where America will once again be respected by friends and foes."
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 鈥� criticizing Stauber as an ineffective congressman who puts politics above policy.
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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 mining and oil drilling policies and sponsored legislation that 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 鈥渉umanitarian and organized crime鈥� 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 between Duluth and Superior after voting against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that funded it.
The DFLer has also slammed his in its defense of the Russian invasion, as well as 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鈥檚 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 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.
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Members of Congress make $174,000 per year.
The Trust Project
