# Pete Stauber *American politician; U.S. representative for Minnesota's 8th congressional district* Peter Allen Stauber (born May 10, 1966) is a [[Minnesota]] politician and a member of the [[Republican Party (United States)]]. He has represented Minnesota's 8th congressional district in the [[United States House of Representatives]] since 2019.[^1] Before entering Congress, he served as a lieutenant in the Duluth Police Department from 1995 to 2017 and as a county commissioner in [[St. Louis County, Minnesota]], from 2013 to 2019.[^1] He played college hockey for Lake Superior State University, which won the 1988 national championship, and then played briefly in the minor leagues.[^1] According to Wikipedia, Stauber filed a motion in December 2020 in support of *Texas v. Pennsylvania*, a suit aimed at invalidating millions of votes in several swing states.[^1] CBS Minnesota reported that he backed the Texas lawsuit.[^2] The record assembled here does not include the filing itself, its docket or its exact date. The account rests on those two secondary sources.[^1][^2] ## Early life and education Stauber was born in Duluth on May 10, 1966. He went to Denfeld High School there and later earned a bachelor's degree in criminology from Lake Superior State University.[^1] His brother Robb played in the National Hockey League.[^1] ## Hockey career At Lake Superior State, Stauber was a leading player on the Lakers team that won the 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship.[^1] In the title game, [[Star Tribune]] sportswriter John Gilbert wrote that Stauber "straight-armed the net off its moorings" during an opposing Saints rush with 1:23 left in regulation. Opinion columnist Mike Mullen called the play "risky, arguably crafty, and inarguably illegal".[^1] The championship team was then invited to the White House, where Stauber met President Ronald Reagan. Stauber has called the meeting pivotal to his interest in politics.[^1] He signed a multi-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings in 1990. He then played three seasons with the Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League and 25 regular-season games with the Toledo Storm of the ECHL, including the 1991–92 Riley Cup playoff run.[^1] The Florida Panthers took him from Detroit in the 1993 NHL expansion draft. Citing a longstanding neck injury, he instead retired and joined the Duluth Police Department.[^1] The cited account dates his police service from 1995 to 2017 in one place and describes it as 23 years in another.[^1] ## U.S. House of Representatives ### 2018 election Before running for the House, Stauber spent eight years on the Hermantown City Council. From 2013 he also sat on the St. Louis County Commission, whose territory includes Duluth.[^1] In June 2018, President Donald Trump held a rally for him in Duluth, Trump's first visit to Minnesota as president.[^1] The seat had been held since 2013 by Rick Nolan and was open that year. Partisan funders on both sides reserved advertising money for a race regarded as a possible Republican pickup.[^1] In November 2018, Stauber beat the DFL nominee Joe Radinovich, a former Nolan aide. He became the fifth person in 71 years to hold the seat and the second Republican to do so.[^1] Wikipedia attributes the result mainly to his large margins in the more conservative western part of the district.[^1] His 2018 platform included letting Medicare negotiate drug prices, a position Wikipedia says he later retreated from.[^1] ### 2020 election On November 4, 2020, Stauber won a second term over DFL nominee Quinn Nystrom. Wikipedia records him as the first Republican reelected in the 8th district in 76 years.[^1] ### December 2020 motion Wikipedia states that in December 2020 Stauber filed a motion to support *Texas v. Pennsylvania*. It says the suit was described as a "seditious abuse of the judicial process" and was aimed at invalidating millions of votes in swing states.[^1] CBS Minnesota reported that Stauber and Hagedorn backed the Texas lawsuit.[^2] According to Wikipedia, the Duluth News Tribune, which had endorsed Stauber, joined many other local officials in criticizing him sharply over the filing.[^1] The record here does not establish the filing's docket, date or text.[^1][^2] ## Personal life Stauber, who is of German ancestry, lives in Hermantown with his family. They belong to St. Lawrence Catholic Church.[^1] His wife, Jodi, is an Iraq War veteran and was the first woman to serve as Command Chief of the 148th Fighter Wing. The couple have six children.[^1] His brother Robb coached the United States women's national ice hockey team to gold at the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship and at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[^1] Stauber and his brothers co-own the Duluth Hockey Company, which has specialized in hockey-related merchandise since 2015. During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the company received more than $86,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program.[^1] The brothers also run a summer hockey camp for children of military parents.[^1] One of Stauber's sons has Down syndrome. Stauber has advocated continued medical research into the condition, and in 2023 the Global Down Syndrome Foundation gave him its Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award.[^1] In 1995, while on duty, he suffered a minor head wound after a bullet came into his squad car.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Pete Stauber, Republican, U.S. representative for Minnesota's 8th congressional district since 2019.[^1] ### What - Backed the Texas-led election lawsuit *Texas v. Pennsylvania* in December 2020. Wikipedia describes the step as a filed motion.[^1][^2] - His family's Duluth Hockey Company received more than $86,000 in Paycheck Protection Program funds.[^1] ### When - Born May 10, 1966.[^1] - St. Louis County commissioner, 2013–2019.[^1] - First elected November 2018; reelected November 4, 2020.[^1] ### Where - Duluth and Hermantown, Minnesota.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pete Stauber* (revision 1381120104, retrieved 2026-10-26) — biographical, hockey, police, county, electoral and personal facts, and its account of the December 2020 motion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Stauber [^2]: CBS Minnesota, *Hagedorn, Stauber back Texas lawsuit* (undated) — reports that Stauber backed the Texas-led election lawsuit. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/hagedorn-stauber-added-to-list-of-republicans-backing-texas-led-election-lawsuit-to-overturn-bidens-win/