Jen Schultz

I’m running for Congress because people of the Eighth District deserve a better leader. I will be on your side building a better future for everyone.  
My grandparents were farmers and I’m a daughter of a single mother. My father was a firefighter and served our country in Vietnam. I started working at age 14 parking cars at the county fair, then at a restaurant and grocery store. I know what it’s like to work hard and still struggle to pay bills. 
I now live in Duluth with my husband, a criminologist, and our two teenage sons. I teach economics and as a union member, I understand the importance of advocating for working families. I served as a state legislator for eight years with a 100-percent pro-labor voting record. I successfully navigated a divided government, advancing measures improving access to affordable healthcare, reducing prescription drug costs, closing corporate tax loopholes, and securing funding for every infrastructure project in my district, including a new hospital — all with bipartisan support. I was known for solving problems using my expertise in economics and health policy. 
I was raised with small town values, so I understand the importance of showing up to help your neighbors. I’ve traveled throughout the district to listen to the needs of people. We hosted over 50 meet-and-greets, marched in 34 parades, sent over 30,000 postcards, and knocked on thousands of doors with hundreds of volunteers. I handed out my cell number everywhere I went. I am committed to being accessible as your representative. 
I will work to improve lives by moving our communities forward. I will prioritize helping to reduce costs for working families by addressing the high cost of housing, health care and child care. I will protect services for veterans, Social Security, and Medicare. I will defend our reproductive rights and keep our rural health care facilities open. 
I’m proud to be endorsed by labor unions such as the AFL CIO, AFSCME, BLET, CWA, Education Minnesota, NEA, AFT, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, IBEW 242, SEIU, UFCW, SMART, and USW SOAR. Union members know I fight for workers’ rights. 
My opponent, Pete Stauber is aligned with an extremist faction in Congress. He tried to overturn the 2020 election and voted against investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection that injured 140 police officers. As a member of the Republican Study Committee, he supports restricting Social Security and Medicare. He supports banning abortion, sponsored a bill preventing access to IVF treatment, and voted against access to birth control.
Stauber voted against the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which brought jobs and billions in funding for the Blatnik Bridge, roads, lead line replacement, water treatment, airports, and broadband. Yet, he didn’t hesitate to take credit. 
Stauber voted against domestic manufacturing, against helping veterans exposed to toxins, against funding law enforcement, against affordable child care, against gas price gouging, against limiting use of PFAS, against lowering health care prices, and against labor. He supported cutting funding to our public schools by $6 million and opposed student debt relief while his own $86,000 PPP loan was forgiven.
Despite being in office for six years, Stauber passed only two of his bills into law - naming a post office and starting a task force. Stauber blames others and complains about issues he should be solving, including border security. 
Stauber doesn’t even bother to show up. He fails to host public, in-person town hall meetings and ranks in the top 11 percent for missed votes in Congress. Special interests have contributed over $1 million to his campaign. Only 11 percent of his donations come from donors who contribute less than $200. He also spent over $2 million on taxpayer-funded unsolicited mail and communications. 
There is a better way forward. A future where we improve lives by investing in people and in our communities. I ask for your vote on or before the November 5th general election.