Swanson, Stauber set for 8th District race after dominating primaries

HERMANTOWN — Democratic candidate Trina Swanson and Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber will face off in the 8th Congressional District midterm general election.

The candidates, both from Hermantown, handily won their primary races on Tuesday, Aug. 11. According to the unofficial count from the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office, Swanson earned 77.24% of the primary vote among three candidates. Stauber won 86.44% and one challenger. Ballots will continue to be reviewed and certified over the next few weeks following the election.

For Swanson, the win was an unforgettable moment.

“I was looking at an app on my phone, and I saw the checkmark come up next to my name, and I just got goosebumps,” she said.

Swanson is a former federal worker who left the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service after being given orders by the Trump administration she said she believed compromised her integrity.

After returning to Hermantown and launching her campaign, she won the DFL party endorsement in April. She credits the moment as one of the most important events in her campaign.

“I had worked the entire first quarter of the year on getting the endorsement, getting the delegates to support my campaign, and just starting that initial push to meet with people and understand what their issues were,” she said.

Luke Gulbranson, Swanson's main competitor in the primary, is a small business owner and hockey coach. He is also known for his time on Summer House, a Bravo reality television show.

Gulbranson finished with 16.87%.

While looking back on the campaign, Gulbranson said he was proud of his focus on the issues affecting working-class Minnesotans.

"We're a blue collar, you know, union strong, grassroots team over here," he said. "That's the backbone of this, what the 8th District, is."

Gulbranson said his focus now is helping other candidates cross the finish line while completing a to-do list of his own.

"Well, you know, right now I ate a lot of cheeseburgers and French fries and stuff on the campaign trail, and as much gas station food as you can imagine," he said. "So, I really just need to get my ass back in shape and like run and work out.

“ ... I've got projects that I put off on my house, because I built my house. So, there's some things I need to do."

Though the DFL candidates raised a similar amount in small donations, before the primary, Swanson had raised roughly 39% more than Gulbranson in all, and she dominated with large donors in the district and the rest of Minnesota. By contrast, Gulbranson’s backers include connections from the entertainment industry. He also earned some endorsements from labor groups in the state, like American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees International and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 242.

"We were up against the DFL machine," Gulbranson said, "and I thought we did a damn good job."

Swanson will now pivot to the general election against the incumbent Stauber, who’s been in office since 2019.

In the Tuesday night primary, Stauber bested Anthony Hamilton, a farmer from Mora who finished with 13.56%. Despite the loss, Hamilton expressed pride in the votes he earned in a Wednesday, Aug. 12 Facebook post.

“That is not nothing,” Hamilton stated. “That is a foundation.”

Stauber has easily won three general elections since a somewhat close race for the open seat in 2018 following the retirement of the late Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan.

Swanson said her plan to attract Stauber voters hinges on conversation.

“I had somebody tell me they voted for him because he got them all of the money for the infrastructure projects in Duluth,” she recounted. “And I said, ‘Respectfully, he voted against Biden's infrastructure bill. … So, these are the conversations that we're having. We're going to stick to the facts.”

Stauber did not respond to KAXE’s request for comment.