First-term Rep. Pete Stauber looks to defend his fresh seat against Democrat Quinn Nystrom in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District
- First-term Rep. Pete Stauber will face Democrat Quinn Nystrom in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District.
- The district is one of just three in the entire country which flipped from Democratic to Republican hands in the 2018 midterm elections.
- The 8th District covers most of the northeastern region of Minnesota and is home to the Superior and the Mesabi and Vermilion Iron Ranges.
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Freshman congressman Rep. Pete Stauber looks to defend his new seat against Democratic challenger Quinn Nystrom in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District.
The candidates
Stauber is a former player in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers. Following his hockey career, Stauber became a police officer in Duluth for 22 years. In that time, he rose to the rank of area commander and became the president of the local Law Enforcement Labor Services Union.
In 2018, Stauber defeated Democrat Joe Radinovich by 5.5 percentage points after the incumbent, Rick Nolan, announced his retirement and plans to run for lieutenant governor. Stauber was one of just three Republicans in 2018 to flip a Democrat-held seat to a Republican seat in the House.
Nystrom, Stauber's Democratic challenger, is a fourth generation Minnesotan. Nystrom later became the youngest person to serve on the city council of the city of Baxter while simultaneously working as the council liaison for the Community Behavioral Health Hospital. Nystrom's campaign is centered around making healthcare affordable, supporting Native communities, ending the opioid epidemic, and expanding the economy.
The district
Minnesota's 8th Congressional District covers the entire Mideastern region of the state. It is home to the Vermilion and Mesabi iron ranges as well as the Superior National Forest. The district also includes the counties of Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Chisago, Cook, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Isanti, Itasca, Kanabec, Koochiching, Lake, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, St. Louis, and Wadena.
While the district voted Democratically in the four presidential elections preceding it, the 8th District voted for Republican President Donald Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in a 54-39 percent split of the vote, according to Daily Kos.
The money race
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Stauber has raised substantially more than Nystrom. Stauber has raised $1.9 million for his campaign, close to four times more than Nystrom's $509,000. Stauber has $1 million in cash on hand as the November election approaches, also close to four times more than his opponent with $242,000 remaining.
What experts say
The race between Stauber and Nystrom is rated as "safe Republican" by Inside Elections, the Cook Political Report, and Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.