U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber's reelection campaign holds an $868,000 edge on Democratic challenger Quinn Nystrom in the 8th Congressional District money race in advance of the August primary and November general election.
Stauber, R-Hermantown, brought in $374,000 in the second quarter of 2020, his campaign said before Tuesday's midnight deadline. Nystrom raised $240,612 in the second quarter from May through June, her campaign said.
Having spent $111,659, it leaves Nystrom with $231,962 in cash on hand compared with Stauber's figure of $1.1 million. Stauber's camp did not share its quarterly money-spent figure or comment on its fundraising.
Despite the polling and money gaps, Nystrom's campaign remained upbeat.
"This quarter shows Quinn Nystrom has what it takes to win in November and that she will do it without taking a dime of corporate PAC money, unlike Pete Stauber," campaign manager Sam Rivers said.
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The latest update from The Cook Political Report has the 8th District race labeled as "competitive" and "likely Republican," giving Stauber a four-point edge.
Nystrom, a Baxter resident, diabetes advocate and Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nominee, issued a statement Wednesday about her pledge to avoid corporate money from political action committees, explaining that she felt pharmaceutical companies warped the process and "slowed reform" during the state's passing of the Alec Smith Affordable Insulin Act.
"I won't be beholden to corporate special interests in Congress," she said. "That's why I'm pledging today to not take a dime of corporate PAC money."
Stauber will go to an Aug. 11 primary against Duluth's Harry Welty, who said he has $508 in campaign donations, far less than the $5,000 required to report to the Federal Election Commission. Deadline for reporting is midnight Wednesday.
Third-party entrant Judith Schwartzbacker, running with the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party, has not registered any campaign earnings to date, and has not responded to the News Tribune since filing her candidacy in June.
