| State: | Minnesota |
| District Number: | 8 |
| Image Caption: | Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 |
| Representative: | Pete Stauber |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Hermantown |
| English Area: | 27,583[1] |
| Metric Area: | 71,440 |
| Distribution Ref: | [2] |
| Percent Urban: | 38.47 |
| Percent Rural: | 61.53 |
| Population: | 727,776 |
| Population Year: | 2023 |
| Median Income: | $73,546[3] |
| Percent White: | 87.0 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 1.9 |
| Percent Black: | 1.2 |
| Percent Asian: | 0.8 |
| Percent Native American: | 4.3 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 4.5 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.3 |
| Cpvi: | R+8[4] |
Minnesota's 8th congressional district covers the northeastern part of Minnesota. It is anchored by Duluth, the state's fifth-largest city. It also includes most of the Mesabi & Vermilion iron ranges, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in the Superior National Forest. The district is best known for its mining, agriculture, tourism, and shipping industries.
For many decades, the district reliably voted Democratic, but in 2016, Republicans made strong gains and Donald Trump carried the district by a 15-point margin. In the 2018 midterm election, it was one of only three congressional districts in the country which flipped to Republican. The eastern part of the district (Carlton, Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties) tends to vote Democratic while the rest of the district leans Republican.[5]
The district is notable for being the last one assigned after both the 2010 and 2020 censuses. After the 2020 census in particular, in spite of early predictions that it would be eliminated, Minnesota held onto the district by a mere 89 people, beating out New York's 27th district for the last spot.[6]
The district is represented by Republican Pete Stauber.[7]
| Year | Office | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | President | Al Gore 49 - George W. Bush 43% |
| 2004 | President | John Kerry 53 - George W. Bush 46% |
| 2008 | President | Barack Obama 53 - John McCain 45% |
| Senate | Al Franken 52.3 - Norm Coleman 47.6% | |
| 2012 | President | Barack Obama 51.7 - Mitt Romney 46.2% |
| Senate | Amy Klobuchar 65 - Kurt Bills 31% | |
| 2014 | Senate | Al Franken 54 - Mike McFadden 42% |
| 2016 | President | Donald Trump 54.2 - Hillary Clinton 38.6% |
| 2018 | Senate | Amy Klobuchar 53.7 - Jim Newberger 42.9% |
| Senate (special) | Karin Housley 48.3 - Tina Smith 46.8% | |
| Governor | Jeff Johnson 48.9 - Tim Walz 47.1% | |
| 2020 | President | Donald Trump 56.3 - Joe Biden 41.7% |
| 2022 | Governor | Scott Jensen 52.2 - Tim Walz 43.9% |
| 2024 | President | Donald Trump 56.1 - Kamala Harris 41.9% |
| Senate | Royce White 49.0 - Amy Klobuchar 47.8% | |
| County | Seat | Population | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aitkin | Aitkin | 16,102 | |
| 5 | Becker | Detroit Lakes | 35,283 | |
| 7 | Beltrami | Bemidji | 46,718 | |
| 17 | Carlton | Carlton | 36,825 | |
| 21 | Cass | Walker | 31,446 | |
| 25 | Chisago | Center City | 58,535 | |
| 29 | Clearwater | Bagley | 8,644 | |
| 31 | Cook | Grand Marais | 5,639 | |
| 35 | Crow Wing | Brainerd | 68,304 | |
| 59 | Isanti | Cambridge | 43,182 | |
| 61 | Itasca | Grand Rapids | 45,365 | |
| 65 | Kanabec | Mora | 16,602 | |
| 67 | Hubbard | Park Rapids | 22,132 | |
| 87 | Mahnomen | Mahnomen | 5,280 | |
| 71 | Koochiching | International Falls | 11,751 | |
| 75 | Lake | Two Harbors | 10,855 | |
| 77 | Lake of the Woods | Baudette | 3,778 | |
| 95 | Mille Lacs | Milaca | 27,427 | |
| 115 | Pine | Pine City | 30,197 | |
| 137 | St. Louis | Duluth | 200,514 | |
| 163 | Washington | Stillwater | 278,936 |
Minnesota's 8th district has one of the highest proportions of non-Hispanic whites in the nation. 98.4% of people over the age of 85 are non-Hispanic whites. 86% of those in the 0-4 year old bracket are non-Hispanic white, compared to less than 50% of the nation at large.[9]
The ancestry of Minnesota's 8th district is dominated by Northern Europeans: German Americans, Norwegian Americans, Swedish Americans, and Danish Americans make up over 55% of the population.[8] Minnesota's 8th district has the highest percentage of Swedish Americans of any congressional district in the country.
| Member | Party | Years | Cong ress | Electoral history | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created March 4, 1903 | ||||||||
| align=left | James Bede | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1909 | Elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | Clarence B. Miller | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1919 | Elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Lost re-election. | |||
William Leighton Carss | Farmer–Labor | March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1921 | Elected in 1918. Lost re-election as a Democrat. | |||||
| Democratic | ||||||||
| align=left | Oscar Larson | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1925 | Elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Retired. | |||
| align=left | William Leighton Carss | Farmer–Labor | nowrap | March 4, 1925 – March 3, 1929 | Elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | William Alvin Pittenger | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1933 | Elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Redistricted to the and lost re-election. | |||
| District inactive | nowrap | March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935 | All members elected on a general ticket | |||||
| align=left | William Alvin Pittenger | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1937 | Elected in 1934. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | John Bernard | Farmer–Labor | nowrap | January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1939 | Elected in 1936. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | William Alvin Pittenger | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1947 | Elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | John Blatnik | nowrap | January 3, 1947 – December 31, 1974 | Elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Retired and resigned early. | ||||
| Vacant | nowrap | December 31, 1974 – January 3, 1975 | ||||||
| align=left | Jim Oberstar | nowrap | January 3, 1975 – January 3, 2011 | Elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Lost re-election. | ||||
| align=left | Chip Cravaack | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013 | Elected in 2010. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Rick Nolan | nowrap | January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2019 | Elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Retired to run for Lt. Governor of Minnesota. | ||||
| align=left | Pete Stauber | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2019 – present | Elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024. | |||
| scope=col rowspan=3 | Year | scope=col colspan=3 | DFL | scope=col colspan=3 | Republican | scope=col colspan=2 | Others | scope=col colspan=2 | Total | scope=col rowspan=3 | Result | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=col colspan=3 style="background:" | ! | scope=col colspan=3 style="background:" | ! | scope=col colspan=2 | ! | scope=col colspan=2 | |||||||||||||
| scope=col | Candidate ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | % ! | scope=col | Candidate ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | % ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | % ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | % |
| 2002[10] | Jim Oberstar | 193,959 | 68.6% | Bob Lemen | 88,423 | 31.2% | 349 | 0.1% | 283,931 | 100.0% | DFL hold | ||||||||
| 2004 | Jim Oberstar | 228,586 | 65.2% | Mark Groettum | 112,693 | 32.2% | 9,204 | 2.6% | 350,483 | 100.0% | DFL hold | ||||||||
| 2006 | Jim Oberstar | 180,670 | 63.6% | Rod Grams | 97,683 | 34.4% | 5,663 | 2.0% | 284,016 | 100.0% | DFL hold | ||||||||
| 2008 | Jim Oberstar | 241,831 | 67.7% | Michael Cummins | 114,871 | 32.2% | 582 | 0.2% | 357,284 | 100.0% | DFL hold | ||||||||
| 2010 | 129,091 | 46.6% | Chip Cravaack | 133,490 | 48.2% | 14,500 | 5.2% | 277,081 | 100.0% | Republican gain | |||||||||
| 2012 | Rick Nolan | 191,976 | 54.3% | 160,520 | 45.4% | 1,167 | 0.3% | 353,663 | 100.0% | DFL gain | |||||||||
| 2014 | Rick Nolan | 129,090 | 48.5% | Stewart Mills III | 125,358 | 47.1% | 11,635 | 4.4% | 266,083 | 100.0% | DFL hold | ||||||||
| 2016 | Rick Nolan | 179,098 | 50.2% | Stewart Mills III | 177,089 | 49.6% | 792 | 0.2% | 356,979 | 100.0% | DFL hold | ||||||||
| 2018 | 141,948 | 45.2% | Pete Stauber | 159,364 | 50.7% | 12,697 | 4.1% | 314,209 | 100.0% | Republican gain | |||||||||
| 2020 | Quinn Nystrom | 147,853 | 37.6% | Pete Stauber | 223,432 | 56.7% | 22,426 | 5.7% | 393,711 | 100.0% | Republican hold | ||||||||
| 2022 | 140,770 | 42.7% | Pete Stauber | 188,444 | 57.2% | 317 | 0.1% | 329,531 | 100.0% | Republican hold | |||||||||
| 2024 | 176,724 | 42.0% | Pete Stauber | 244,498 | 58.0% | 421,222 | 100.0% | Republican hold |