DULUTH – Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber and Democratic challenger Jennifer Schultz may differ on culture war issues, but showed somewhat similar priorities Tuesday night when it comes to matters critical to their northern Minnesota district.
A 40-minute debate televised by Duluth-based WDIO News was the first and only in the congressional rematch. It showcased cordial candidates who took shots at each other as northern Minnesotans do: through smiling, gritted teeth.
“Jennifer, thanks for joining me once again,” Stauber said toward the end, before launching a barb. “No matter how hard my opponent tries, she cannot run from the extreme … politics of the Biden-Harris administration that has resulted in skyrocketing prices, open borders — wide open southern border — and chaos and wars abroad.”
And Schultz’s voice was measured as she attacked Stauber’s voting record and positions, including his opposition to abortion and vote against birth control access.
“My opponent has been in office for six years,” she said. “He has done almost nothing in Congress. … I’m very worried about that, and you should be as well.”
Stauber, seeking his fourth term, easily beat Schultz in 2020 with 57% of the vote, and his campaign has outraised hers this year 2 to 1. The recently expanded Eighth District, that until 2018 had been a DFL stronghold, covers about one third of the state — west beyond Bemidji, south to outer-ring Twin Cities suburbs and all of the northeast.
A Duluth native, Stauber is a retired police officer and former professional hockey player. He and his wife, Jodi, are raising six children in Hermantown.
Schultz is an economics instructor at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She served eight years in the Minnesota Legislature and lives in Duluth with her husband and two teenage sons.