Know your candidates: Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District nominating convention approaches

The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party will hold a nominating convention this weekend for Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District. The event on May 2 in Lindstrom, Minn. will select an official party nominee from a field of candidates. At the Republican nominating convention on April 25, delegates endorsed incumbent Pete Stauber.

Each congressional district across the state holds its own nominating convention. Delegates from local caucuses and district conventions can also participate in the state convention, where nominees are chosen for state-wide offices.

Both parties will also hold primary elections in August for state and congressional offices to determine who will be on the ballot for the general election. Candidate filing with the Secretary of State for the 8th District seat opens on May 19. Candidates who do not receive the nomination can stay in the race through the primary.

The DFL race recently caught national attention when reality TV star and Minnesota native Luke Gulbranson announced his candidacy in mid-April. Gulbranson joins several other candidates vying for the DFL nomination this weekend.

Emanuel Anastos

Emanuel Anastos is originally from Long Island, New York, but attended college in Minnesota and now works for the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa as the Indian Child Welfare Case Manager. According to his campaign materials, he will prioritize establishing universal health care, raising the minimum wage to address the high cost of living, and increasing access to public higher education and training for jobs in the trades.

Luke Gulbranson

Luke Gulbranson grew up in Eveleth, Minn. According to his campaign website, he left the state and made his career as an actor and a model, but returned to Minnesota during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reality TV fans may be familiar with him from his several seasons on the show Summer House. Gulbranson has listed his priorities as protecting Social Security and Medicare, supporting labor unions, addressing the high costs of healthcare and essential goods, and raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

Wendell Smith

Wendell Smith is a surgeon who lives in Virginia, Minn. He previously served in the U.S. Air Force. His campaign website lists a collection of priorities, including both creating a “Medicare for all” system, and protecting rural hospitals and health services. He also lists restoring the Department of Education and lowering the cost of higher education, growing the clean energy sector, supporting unions, raising the minimum wage, protecting voting rights, and increasing government accountability. He also stated that he supports mining as an important part of the economy in Northern Minnesota, and does not support what he described as the “illegal actions” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Trina Swanson

Trina Swanson grew up in Hermantown, Minn. After law school she worked with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services before spending time representing the U.S. government in several roles abroad, including as Director of International Operations for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Swanson states on her campaign website that left her role with the federal government after being directed by the current administration to do things she felt were unethical. The priorities she identified on her website are affordable healthcare access for Greater Minnesota, maintaining the mining industry, while tightening requirements around environmental impact, addressing the high cost of living, and protecting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. She also identified the need to reform the federal immigration system to both secure U.S. borders and provide a path to citizenship.

Kirsten Wisniewski May 1, 2026