Trina Swanson secures DFL endorsement for 8th District seat
Candidate Trina Swanson won the DFL endorsement in her bid for Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The endorsement makes Swanson the front-runner in the Democratic primary, which will be held Aug. 11.
Swanson grew up in Hermantown and recently returned to the Duluth area after leaving a career with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services abroad. Upon returning home, Swanson said she was inspired to run for office after seeing people close to her struggle with economic and health care challenges.
“My mom had a stroke in 2018, and she was in the hospital, and she could not return to work within the time that Essentia set for her, and so her employment was terminated,” Sawnson told WTIP. “Her and my father made a plan that she would work until they could reach 65 and have Medicare, and suddenly they didn’t have that.”
If Swanson wins the primary in August, she will face Republican Pete Stauber, who has represented the district for a decade and won the past four elections.
Recently, Stauber made headlines for championing House Joint Resolution 140, which President Donald Trump signed into law April 27.
“We have Pete Stauber right now, who is lobbying for that to happen, just for a Chilean mining company that’s headquartered in London to come in and take our minerals and ship them to China, and then we can beg to buy them back under tariffs,” Swanson said.
Despite the DFL endorsement, Swanson is not guaranteed the party’s nomination. Luke Gulbranson has vowed to remain in the race through the primary election.
“The path to beating Pete Stauber runs through every voter in this district, and that’s exactly where I’m headed. This campaign has the energy, the message, and the people to win on August 11 and take this seat back for the working families who need it most,” Gulbranson said in a press release after failing to win the DFL endorsement.
Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District stretches across much of northern Minnesota, including 21 counties. The district runs along the Canadian border, including communities such as Ely and International Falls, extends west to Bemidji and south to North Branch.
Earlier this spring, Swanson conducted a 21-stop tour across the region to meet with voters.
“Probably one of the top five things that I hear is that Pete Stauber has these virtual town halls. He’s on a phone. They can’t ask the questions they want to ask, and there’s no back-and-forth engagement, and he’s not listening to folks,” Swanson told WTIP. “And so I decided it was critical, really early on, to get out there and stop in every single county and make them listening sessions.”
Stauber has not held an in-person public event in the district during his current term, instead opting for smaller private events or remote town halls.
WTIP spoke with Swanson about her background and campaign. Audio of that conversation can be found below.
Josh Hinke May 7, 2026
