Republican Stauber Looks Good in Minnesota

With five-term Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan retiring in Minnesota's 8th District, a just-completed poll had some surprising results about the race to succeed him.

The New York Times/Siena College poll released yesterday showed Republican Pete Stauber, former professional hockey player, Duluth police lieutenant, and now St.  Louis County Commissioner, leading Democrat Joe Radinovich by 49 to 34 percent.

These figures are making news since the last Times/Siena poll, conducted after Labor Day, showed former State Rep. Radinovich leading Stauber by 44 to 43 percent. 

“Did Minnesota’s Eighth District Swing By Almost Twenty Points?” blared the headline in yesterday’s Times, attempting to explain how Trump supporter Stauber moved into such a commanding lead.

John Augustine, veteran Gopher State conservative activist, told Newsmax that “support for Stauber went up from 43 percent to 49 percent, which suggests he is getting more popular as more voters learn about him.”

Minnesota-8, Augustine explained, “has always been the best chance this year for Minnesota Republicans and Republicans nationally to flip control of a seat currently held by a Democrat. President Trump carried the socially-conservative, blue-collar district by over 15 percent in 2016. His embrace of tariffs and relaxation of environmental regulations fit well with the district's economy which is heavily tied to mining and manufacturing.”

Left-wing activist Skip Sandman, who drew 4 percent of the vote as a third-party candidate in 2014, is again on the ballot. Although not included in the Times/Siena poll, Sandman is sure, as Augustine put it, “to hurt Radinovich more than Stauber.”