8th Congressional District 2026 Election Guide

Incumbent

Website: petestauberforcongress.com

Party: Republican

KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.

Contributed

Website: trinaforcongress.com

Party: Democrat

Age on Election Day: 46

Community: Hermantown

Employment: JET Global Solutions, LLP; Founding Partner and Attorney at Law

Please share any prior experience and education that you believe qualifies you for office.

I grew up in Hermantown, Minnesota, where my mother worked as a nurse and my father worked first as a carpenter, then at the paper mill. They instilled in me the Minnesota values of unions, hard work, and caring for your community. Those lessons drove me to a career in public service at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and I was proud to represent the United States across the globe, leading offices and national emergency responses. I proudly served under several Administrations, worked with people from both sides of the aisle, and identified and implemented solutions to problems.

When Trump’s administration asked me to carry out directives I believed were unethical, I walked away from my career. I started my own law firm and decided to use all my experience and leadership skills in national security, foreign policy, diplomacy, and immigration to fight for fellow Minnesotans.

Why are you running?

Our district has seen the outcome of relying on the same representation for years: a focus on identity politics rather than day-to-day issues, and catering to the Trump administration rather than Minnesota families. Across this district, voters keep asking the same question: who has the experience and dedication to make life more affordable and strengthen our communities? Our current representation has been unable to articulate how they will enact concrete change.

Being effective in Congress requires Representatives with the skills to work across the aisle, identify solutions, build coalitions, and get laws passed. It requires an understanding of the issues at hand, including foreign policy, national security, and immigration. It also requires a willingness to learn about the issues one may not be fluent in, recognizing that we have a broad depth of issues to tackle in this country. I am ready to be that Representative.

Why should voters elect you?

I have proven my commitment to listening to voters across the District regardless of affiliation. Sitting down and having conversations with people, listening to their struggles, questions, and concerns, is the only way to move beyond divisive identity politics. I have worked hard to ensure my candidacy is centered around my skills, experience, and tangible solutions for Minnesota families’ everyday challenges. I grew up here. The 8th District is my family, friends, and neighbors. I know I can win the 8th because I am winning people over one conversation at a time. This message is resonating: Minnesotans are ready for representation that puts kitchen table issues first and brings opportunity at home.

What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please describe specific policy goals.

I have traveled all 31,000 miles and 21 counties in this District, and it is clear that the District wants strong communities with good-paying jobs, affordable and accessible healthcare, new industry investment, and to preserve our lakes and wilderness for future generations to enjoy.

To make this a reality, we must enact universal healthcare, ensure proper federal funding for childcare, schools, hospitals, and the programs the working class relies upon, and attract new industries with good-paying, union jobs to the district.

We currently have a representative who supports cuts to programs that the middle class relies upon, so the 1% can receive greater tax breaks. I will fight for Minnesota to receive proper federal funding, instead of today’s status quo: placing the responsibility on the state, resulting in property tax increases. People should be able to stay in the communities they love, raise families, and retire with dignity.

What are your natural resources policy positions?

Generations to come must be able to enjoy this amazing land we call home. We must respect the science, experts, and regulatory processes that ensure corporations use the most advanced technological means in their industries to minimize the impact on our environment and manage natural resources sustainably.

I will ensure proper funding for federal agencies with oversight of our natural resources. We must return to proper staffing levels across federal agencies and reopen the critical offices that closed.

I support our mining industry and miners, just as I believe in protecting Minnesota’s natural resources by consistently enforcing environmentally responsible regulatory practices. At the end of the day, mining must benefit our communities, prioritize our workforce, and protect our environment. When I am elected to Congress, I will support legislation to protect the Boundary Waters, while also supporting and protecting Minnesota’s robust mining industry.

Do you think Congress should have term limits? Why or why not?

Yes. Our founding fathers never intended Congress to be a career. Becoming entrenched in power not only skews a Representative’s perspective on issues, but all too often, it’s corrupting. There are good arguments for why having members of Congress with institutional knowledge and experience can benefit their constituents. However, 20 or 30+ years in Congress is absurd, and people lose touch with what’s happening in the day-to-day lives of their constituents.

What does representative democracy mean to you?

It means that every voter in this country has someone in Congress trying to do their best for them. I may not always vote the way someone wants, but I will vote in a manner that brings the greatest good to the greatest number of people. It means I will make myself available to my constituents, frequently and throughout my term, to hear their thoughts and concerns, and to take their criticisms face-to-face whenever possible. It means that no matter who they vote for, every one of my constituents will be able to reach out to my office with their concerns and issues with the Federal Government, whether it be problems with their Social Security or Medicare payments or federal agencies regulating their business activities. No matter who they are, I will use the power of my office to be responsive and cut through the bureaucracy.