Minnesota's 8th congressional district

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External image
	THIS govtrack.us MAP, is a useful representation of the 8th CD's borders, based on Google Maps.

Minnesota's 8th congressional district
Minnesota's 8th congressional district
	Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Pete Stauber; R–Hermantown
Area	27,583 sq mi (71,440 km2)
Distribution	61.53% rural; 38.47% urban;
Population (2023)	727,776
Median household; income	$73,546
Ethnicity	87.0% White; 4.5% Two or more races; 4.3% Native American; 1.9% Hispanic; 1.2% Black; 0.8% Asian; 0.3% other;
Cook PVI	R+8

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.^[5]^[7]

Election results from statewide races

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%
2008	Senate	Al Franken 52.3 - Norm Coleman 47.6%
2012	President	Barack Obama 51.7 - Mitt Romney 46.2%
2012	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%
2024	Senate	Royce White 49.0 - Amy Klobuchar 47.8%

Composition

#	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

Cities and townships of 10,000 or more people

Duluth – 86,619
Forest Lake – 20,857
Hibbing – 16,052
Bemidji – 15,946
Hugo – 15,766
Brainerd – 14,580
Cloquet – 12,603
Grand Rapids Township – 11,747
Grand Rapids – 11,220
North Branch – 11,113
Cambridge – 10,509
Hermantown – 10,126

2,500 – 10,000 people

Baxter – 8,971
Virginia – 8,332
St. Francis – 8,142
Wyoming – 8,032
Isanti – 6,804
International Falls – 5,665
Chisago City – 5,558
Princeton – 5,311
Lindström – 5,008
Thomson Township – 5,003
Chisholm – 4,775
Northern Township – 4,657
Chisago Lake Township – 4,656
Rice Lake – 4,101
Scandia – 3,963
Pine City – 3,736
Mora – 3,665
Two Harbors – 3,585
Eveleth – 3,493
Bradford Township – 3,472
Ely – 3,268
Harris Township – 3,253
White Township – 3,229
Rush City – 3,228
Bemidji Township – 3,134
Proctor – 3,120
Lent Township – 3,091
Milaca – 3,021
Mountain Iron – 2,860
Grand Lake Township – 2,779
Cohasset – 2,689
May Township – 2,670
Breezy Point – 2,574
Pokegama Township – 2,570
Moose Lake – 2,565

Demographics

Sex

Male 50.5% ^[8]
Female 49.5%

Ethnicity

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]

White 92.1%
Hispanic 1.6%
Black 1.0%
Asian 0.7%
More than one race 2.0%
Other race 2.6%

Ancestry

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.

American 3.46%
Arab 0.18%
Czech 1.44%
Danish 1.12%
Dutch 1.51%
English 5.91%
French (except Basque) 3.62%
French Canadian 1.60%
German 29.47%
Greek 0.12%
Hungarian 0.24%
Irish 9.09%
Italian 2.91%
Lithuanian 0.05%
Norwegian 14.18%
Polish 0.02%
Portuguese 0.36%
Russian 0.36%
Scotch-Irish 0.47%
Scottish 1.12%
Slovak 0.08%
Subsaharan African 0.45%
Swedish 11.19%
Swiss 0.30%
Ukrainian 0.27%
Welsh 0.34%
West Indian 0.08%

Place of birth

Born in United States 97.8%
- State of residence 78.5%
- Different state 19.1%
Born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s) 0.4%
Foreign born 1.9%

Language

Language spoken at home other than English

Spanish 1.0%
German 0.4%
Native American languages 0.4%
French 0.1%
Chinese 0.1%

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history
District created March 4, 1903
James Bede (Pine City)	Republican	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1909	58th 59th 60th	Elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Lost renomination.
Clarence B. Miller (Duluth)	Republican	March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1919	61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th	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 (Proctor)	Farmer–Labor	March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1921	66th	Elected in 1918. Lost re-election as a Democrat.
William Leighton Carss (Proctor)	Democratic	March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1921	66th	Elected in 1918. Lost re-election as a Democrat.
Oscar Larson (Duluth)	Republican	March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1925	67th 68th	Elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Retired.
William Leighton Carss (Proctor)	Farmer–Labor	March 4, 1925 – March 3, 1929	69th 70th	Elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Lost re-election.
William Alvin Pittenger (Duluth)	Republican	March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1933	71st 72nd	Elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Redistricted to the at-large district and lost re-election.
District inactive		March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935	73rd	All members elected At-large on a general ticket
William Alvin Pittenger (Duluth)	Republican	January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1937	74th	Elected in 1934. Lost re-election.
John Bernard (Eveleth)	Farmer–Labor	January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1939	75th	Elected in 1936. Lost re-election.
William Alvin Pittenger (Duluth)	Republican	January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1947	76th 77th 78th 79th	Elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Lost re-election.
John Blatnik (Chisholm)	Democratic (DFL)	January 3, 1947 – December 31, 1974	80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd	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		December 31, 1974 – January 3, 1975	93rd
Jim Oberstar (Chisholm)	Democratic (DFL)	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 2011	94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th	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.
Chip Cravaack (Lindström)	Republican	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013	112th	Elected in 2010. Lost re-election.
Rick Nolan (Crosby)	Democratic (DFL)	January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2019	113th 114th 115th	Elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Retired to run for Lt. Governor of Minnesota.
Pete Stauber (Hermantown)	Republican	January 3, 2019 – present	116th 117th 118th	Elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.

Recent election results

Year	DFL			Republican			Others		Total		Result

	Candidate	Votes	%	Candidate	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
2002^[10]	Jim Oberstar	193,959	68.6%	Bob Lemen	88,423	31.2%	349^[a]	0.1%	283,931	100.0%	DFL hold
2004	Jim Oberstar	228,586	65.2%	Mark Groettum	112,693	32.2%	9,204^[b]	2.6%	350,483	100.0%	DFL hold
2006	Jim Oberstar	180,670	63.6%	Rod Grams	97,683	34.4%	5,663^[c]	2.0%	284,016	100.0%	DFL hold
2008	Jim Oberstar	241,831	67.7%	Michael Cummins	114,871	32.2%	582^[d]	0.2%	357,284	100.0%	DFL hold
2010	Jim Oberstar	129,091	46.6%	Chip Cravaack	133,490	48.2%	14,500^[e]	5.2%	277,081	100.0%	Republican gain
2012	Rick Nolan	191,976	54.3%	Chip Cravaack	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	Joe Radinovich	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	Jennifer Schultz	140,770	42.7%	Pete Stauber	188,444	57.2%	317	0.1%	329,531	100.0%	Republican hold
2024	Jennifer Schultz	176,724	42.0%	Pete Stauber	244,498	58.0%	—	—	421,222	100.0%	Republican hold

^ Write-in: 349
^ Van Presley (Green): 8,933 Write-in: 271
^ Harry Welty (Unity): 5,508 Write-in: 155
^ Write-in: 582
^ Timothy Olson (IPM): 11,876 Richard Burton (Constitution): 2,492 Write-in: 132

Historical district boundaries

References

^ "Minnesota congressional districts by urban and rural population and land area" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 2000. Retrieved April 2, 2007.
^ Geography. "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based) Bureau". census.gov.
^ ^a ^b "My Congressional District". census.gov. US Census Bureau Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP).
^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Minnesota Election Results 2018: Live Midterm Map by County & Analysis". Retrieved November 7, 2018.
^ "Minnesota avoids losing House seat to New York by 89 people". Associated Press. April 26, 2021.
^ "Minnesota's 8th Congressional District election, 2016 - Ballotpedia". Retrieved November 14, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "My Congressional District". Census.gov. January 25, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
^ Area, Metro (September 4, 2018). "The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States". Statistical Atlas (in Kinyarwanda). Retrieved August 25, 2022.
^ "Index". Election Results. November 5, 2002. Retrieved March 3, 2022.

47°15′01″N 92°57′50″W / 47.25028°N 92.96389°W / 47.25028; -92.96389

[11] Write-in: 349

[12] Van Presley (Green): 8,933 Write-in: 271

[13] Harry Welty (Unity): 5,508 Write-in: 155

[14] Write-in: 582

[15] Timothy Olson (IPM): 11,876 Richard Burton (Constitution): 2,492 Write-in: 132

[1] "Minnesota congressional districts by urban and rural population and land area" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 2000. Retrieved April 2, 2007.

[2] Geography. "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based) Bureau". census.gov.

[census-3] "My Congressional District". census.gov. US Census Bureau Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP).

[Cook-4] "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.

[:0-5] "Minnesota Election Results 2018: Live Midterm Map by County & Analysis". Retrieved November 7, 2018.

[6] "Minnesota avoids losing House seat to New York by 89 people". Associated Press. April 26, 2021.

[7] "Minnesota's 8th Congressional District election, 2016 - Ballotpedia". Retrieved November 14, 2016.

[Bureau_2017-8] "My Congressional District". Census.gov. January 25, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2022.

[Area_2018-9] Area, Metro (September 4, 2018). "The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States". Statistical Atlas (in Kinyarwanda). Retrieved August 25, 2022.

[Election_Results_2002-10] "Index". Election Results. November 5, 2002. Retrieved March 3, 2022.

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