Swanson and Stauber set to debate ahead of early voting

Duluth television station WDIO will broadcast a debate between DFL candidate Trina Swanson and Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber as absentee voting is underway and ahead of the start of early voting Oct. 16.

Stauber is a former police officer who began his political career on the Hermantown City Council before being elected to the St. Louis County Board in 2012. He won his first term in Congress in 2018. Since then, Stauber has won reelection by double-digit margins in 2020, 2022 and 2024.

During Stauber’s current term, he introduced H.J. Res. 140, which overturned a 20-year federal mineral withdrawal covering more than 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota. The resolution was signed into law in April.

Stauber also worked between 2024 and 2025 to secure funding for a new air traffic control tower at Duluth International Airport. He helped secure $10 million in 2024 and another $20 million in 2025. At the time the latest funding was announced, roughly $10 million more was needed before construction could begin.

Fuel prices and broader affordability concerns have remained prominent issues ahead of the midterm elections. National polling also shows President Donald Trump’s approval rating underwater, while recent generic congressional ballot polling has generally given Democrats an advantage. Those national figures, however, do not necessarily reflect voter sentiment in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District.

Swanson launched her campaign with a tour of all 21 counties in the district and won the DFL primary in August with about 77% of the vote.

Swanson previously served as director of international operations for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. She worked for the agency for nearly 20 years before leaving the federal government in 2025. Swanson has said she resigned after being directed to take actions she believed were unethical.

The debate comes midway through Swanson’s “Let’s Fix It!” tour, during which she is making stops throughout the district ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Swanson has said the tour is intended in part to reach voters she considers persuadable.

Swanson previously invited Stauber to join her at town halls for debates ahead of the election and has criticized him for what she describes as a lack of public presence in the district.

WTIP invited both Swanson and Stauber to speak with the station ahead of the election. As of publication, Stauber had not responded to WTIP’s request.

WTIP spoke with Swanson about affordability, her place within the Democratic Party and mining in Minnesota.

Josh Hinke October 6, 2026