Rep. Pete Stauber to win 8th Congressional District, CBS News projects
MINNEAPOLIS — Republican Rep. Pete Stauber will serve a fourth term for Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, CBS News projects.
Democratic challenger Jen Schultz conceded Wednesday morning.
"While the election results are not what we wanted, I couldn't be prouder of the campaign we built together," Schultz said. "We fought for the issues that matter most to the people of northern Minnesota. Our campaign reflected my commitment to the people over outside interests. Though we came up short, our fight was never in vain, and I will always be grateful for the belief people placed in me."
Stauber celebrated his win on social media.
"With humility and a servant's heart, I say thank you," he said.
The district covers a large swath of northern Minnesota, stretching from the northeast corner of the St. Paul suburbs to encompass Duluth, the Boundary Waters, Brainerd as well as White Earth, Red Lake and Leech Lake reservations.
Historically a Democratic stronghold, the district was one of three congressional districts in the country to flip from Democrat to Republican during the 2018 midterms.
The candidates
Stauber is a Duluth native who was first elected to Congress in 2018. He is a former professional hockey player and served as a police officer for 23 years. In Congress, he serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and is the chairman of the subcommittee on energy and mineral resources in the Natural Resources Committee.
In 2020, Stauber was one of three Minnesota representatives to sign a last-gasp bid to get the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the presidential election in favor of Donald Trump. The lawsuit was rejected by the court in a 7-2 vote.
Schultz has called Duluth home for the last 20 years, and works as an economist and educator at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She holds a Ph.D in health economics and touts her union membership. She represented Duluth in the Minnesota Legislature for eight years, during which time she says she helped bring millions of dollars in bonding projects to the city and secured federal funds to clean the St. Louis River.
Stauber and Schultz went head-to-head in 2022, but Stauber pulled ahead with 57% of the vote.
Key issues
Schultz has emphasized that she will vote for infrastructure bills to bring green and alternative energy solutions to the area. Democrats have criticized Stauber for praising the $1 billion in federal funding to rebuild Blatnik Bridge, even though the funds came from Biden's bipartisan infrastructure bill, which he voted against.
Stauber pushed back by saying that the bill did not originally guarantee federal money for the bridge, but he was able to secure the funds by advocating to Secretary of State Pete Buttigieg and President Joe Biden.
Schultz also advocates for campaign finance reform, strengthening social security and reducing costs for working families.
"I will grow the economy by growing the middle class and safeguarding retirement security — that means protecting Social Security and Medicare," Schultz says.
Stauber emphasizes the rising cost of living, saying "we must put America first by building a pro-growth economy and enact an all-American energy policy that doesn't rely on our adversaries." He pushes for ending reliance on foreign minerals, and bringing mining back to the region.