Eveleth native Luke Gulbranson enters race to challenge Pete Stauber

An Eveleth native best known to many readers as a reality TV personality and model is trying to turn name recognition into a real congressional challenge in Minnesota’s 8th District, where Pete Stauber has held the seat since 2019.

Luke Gulbranson announced his candidacy for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor nomination on April 15 from Eveleth, leaning hard on his Iron Range roots as he opened a campaign centered on lowering costs, protecting essential programs and expanding access to affordable health care. For a district that includes Duluth and much of the Iron Range, the hometown pitch is likely to matter as much as the television fame.

The race now becomes an early test of whether Gulbranson can translate familiarity into an actual field operation across one of Minnesota’s largest congressional districts. Stauber, a Duluth native serving his fourth term in Congress, enters the cycle with the advantage of incumbency and a record of easy name recognition of his own. He defeated Democrat Jennifer Schultz in 2024 by 57.99 percent to 41.92 percent, a margin that shows how steep the climb will be for any challenger.

Gulbranson’s timing also places him squarely inside the party’s 2026 nominating calendar. Minnesota DFL precinct caucuses were held Feb. 3, with congressional district conventions scheduled during the April 25 to May 10 window. The filing deadline for the district race is June 2, the primary is Aug. 11 and the general election is Nov. 3. That leaves little room for a candidate to build county-by-county support, raise money and organize volunteers in places as different as Duluth, Eveleth and the rest of the Mesabi and Vermilion ranges.

The field itself is still shifting. A recent report said DFL candidate Cramer dropped out and endorsed fellow Democrat Trina Swanson, a sign that the party’s contest is not yet settled. That makes Gulbranson’s entrance more than a novelty. It adds another candidate trying to convince DFL voters that regional identity, labor credibility and an Iron Range voice can be turned into a viable challenge to Stauber, whose own biography emphasizes Duluth roots and a focus on northeastern Minnesota’s economic development.

For St. Louis County and the broader Northland, the contest is already shaping up as a referendum on who can best speak for the region’s working families, mining communities and Duluth voters in Washington.