Minnesota's 8th congressional district


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 has robust mining, agriculture, tourism, and shipping industries.
The district is currently represented by Republican Pete Stauber.

History

Minnesota's 8th congressional district was first established after the 1900 [United States census|1900 census] and first contested in 1902 [United States House of Representatives elections|1902]. Early settlement patterns of the district were from Northern Europe, leading to a predominantly white, working-class population tied to extractive industries. From 1933 to 1935, the district was temporarily inactive, with representatives elected at-large statewide due to redistricting disputes resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court in Smiley v. Holm. The district had initial Republican dominance but gave way to third-party influences and eventually to the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party.
The first representative was Republican James Bede, who served from 1903 to 1909, followed by Clarence B. Miller. In 1918, William Leighton Carss won as a Farmer-Labor candidate, serving until 1921 and again from 1925 to 1929 after brief Republican control.
Post-World War II, the district solidified as a DFL stronghold, with John Blatnik serving from 1947 to 1974. He was succeeded by DFLer Jim Oberstar, who chaired the United States House [Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure|House Transportation Committee] and held the seat for 36 years. Redistricting in the 1980s and after usually involved courts due to legislative gridlock. After the 1980 census, a federal court ordered new districts in 1982 following a lawsuit. A similar situation occurred in 1992, 2002, and 2012. These changes expanded the district southward and added more rural and suburban areas like Chisago and Isanti counties.
After nearly six decades of comfortably voting DFL, Republican Chip Cravaack defeated Oberstar in 2010 amid discontent with the economy and backlash against the recently passed Affordable Care Act. DFLer Rick Nolan recaptured it in 2012, serving until 2019 after narrow 2014 and 2016 wins. Despite Nolan's win, Donald Trump carried the district by a 15-point margin in the concurrent 2016 [United States presidential election in Minnesota|presidential election]. In the 2018 midterm election, it was one of only three congressional districts in the country which flipped to Republican. Republican Pete Stauber won re-elections in 2020, 2022, and 2024 with growing margins each time.

Apportionment

The district was the last district assigned nationwide 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.

Composition

For the 118th and successive Congresses, the district contains all or portions of the following counties, townships, and municipalities:
Aitkin 'County '
Becker County '
Beltrami County '
Carlton County '
Cass County '
[Chisago County, Minnesota|Chisago County] '
Clearwater County '
Cook County '
Crow Wing County '
Hubbard County '
[Isanti County, Minnesota|Isanti County] '
Itasca County '
Kanabec County '
Mahnomen County '
Koochiching County '
Lake County '
Lake of the Woods County '
Mille Lacs County '
Pine County '
St. Louis County '
Washington County' ''''''

Demographics

The district is mostly rural, covering over 27,500 square miles, with a density of around 23 people per square mile. Major industries include health care, retail, and manufacturing, though employment in traditional sectors like taconite mining has declined from 15,000 jobs in the 1970s to about 4,300 today. The district has aged, with median ages in many counties exceeding 40, and education levels have risen, with over 25% of adults in some counties holding bachelor's degrees by 2012. Homeownership is high at 78.3%.

Sex

  • Male 50.5%
  • 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.
  • 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. Minnesota's 8th district has the highest percentage of Swedish Americans of any congressional district in the country.

Language spoken at home other than English

Recent election results

Recent election results from statewide races

Historical district boundaries