Stauber, Swanson set to debate for 8th Congressional District seat

DULUTH — Republican incumbent Rep. Pete Stauber and DFL challenger Trina Swanson are set to debate in the race for 8th Congressional District.

The event will air live on WDIO and its streaming platforms at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6.

The debate comes less than a month before the general election, which is Nov. 3.

Stauber has been in office since 2018, when he won a somewhat close election with 50.72% of the vote following the retirement of the late Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan.

He has won his last three general elections by widening margins, with 56.75% of the vote in 2020, 57.18% in 2022, 57.99% in 2024.

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

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Stauber and Swanson, who are both from Hermantown, dominated their midterm primaries in August, earning 86% and 77% of the vote respectively.

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

Emma Krab

Listen • 1:50

Swanson is currently traveling throughout the 8th Congressional District on a town hall tour, which began last month with stops in Brainerd and Cambridge.

Swanson invited voters across the political spectrum to attend.

“Voters deserve the opportunity to hear directly from those who wish to represent them,” she said in a statement last Friday.

Swanson also invited her opponent to join her and participate in debates at the town halls. Stauber did not join Swanson on the first two stops of the tour.

Stauber’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.

The town hall tour picks back up in Bemidji on Monday. Following the debate, Swanson’s tour will stop in Grand Rapids on Wednesday and Biwabik on Oct. 14.