| Minnesota's 8th congressional district | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
| |
| Representative | |
| Area | 27,583[1] sq mi (71,440 km2) |
| Distribution |
|
| Population (2022) | 725,126[3] |
| Median household income | $69,868[3] |
| Ethnicity |
|
| Cook PVI | R+8[4] |
| 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 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]
| 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% |
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.
| 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 |
|
| |
|---|---|
|
47°15′01″N 92°57′50″W / 47.25028°N 92.96389°W / 47.25028; -92.96389
