Pete Stauber Wins Re-Election In Minnesota's 8th District

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Pete Stauber is the first Republican to win re-election in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District in more than 70 years.

According to election results from the Minnesota Secretary of State, Stauber topped Democratic challenger Quinn Nystrom by more than 19 points. With nearly all precincts reporting, Stauber captured nearly 57% of the vote while the new-comer Nystrom received about 38%.

Stauber first won the northern Minnesota district in 2016.

WEB EXTRA: Click here for full election results.

Leading into the election, Stauber had a lot of support from the heavily Republican southern part of the district, which covers the Boundary Waters, Duluth and northern Twin Cities suburbs.

"Pete Stauber won re-election tonight because he spent his first term in Congress fighting for the people of his district and their way of life. The eighth congressional district is no longer a Democrat stronghold," GOP Minnesota Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan said. "Congressman Stauber will continue to fight hard for the economic vitality of Greater Minnesota and the prosperity of its residents."

His challenger, Nystom, an affordable insulin advocate, was expected to dominate the Democratic stronghold of Duluth, focusing on health care.

Minnesota's 8th Congressional District has a long history of voting for Democrats. In the presidential race, it voted for Barack Obama twice. But then came 2016 and President Donald Trump won the district by 15 percentage points.