The Eighth District has been dominated by the DFL since 1947 (indeed, has only been held by Oberstar and, before him, DFLer John Blatnik since that time.
Reading through the history of the Eighth District is a whole lot less tedious than the last 53 years of its history, though:
J Adam Bede, a Republican, a journalist and teacher (?) and former US Marshall, known as one of the best stump speakers of his day, from 1903 to 1909
Clarence B. Miller, a Republican, from 1909 to 1919
William Karss, a locomotive engineer from the “Union Labor” Party, from 1919 to 1921 and as part of the “Farmer-Labor” Party from 1925 to 1929.
Oscar Larson, a Republican, served two terms between Karss’ terms, from ’21 to ’25
Here, it gets complicated: William Pittinger served on three different occasions: from 1929 to 1933, from 1937 to 1937, and again from 1939 to 1947. He was the last Republican to hold the seat.
John Bernard, a native of Corsica, an iron minor, and “Farmer-Labor” member who later came out as a member of the Communist Party and who cast the sole vote in Congress against an arms embargo against the Stalinist side in the Spanish Civil War, held the seat from for the 1937-’39 term.
Pittinger turned the seat over to one John Blatnik, a DFLer who held the seat from 1947 until Oberstar’s election in ’74.
The Eighth District has been dominated by the DFL since 1947 – indeed, has only been held by Oberstar and, before him, DFLer John Blatnik for the past, ahem, sixty-three years.
Reading through the history of the Eighth District is a whole lot less tedious than the last 63 years of its history, though. Before Oberstar, only seven men have held that seat, going all the way back to the foundation of the Eighth District back in 1903:
- J Adam Bede, a Republican, a journalist and teacher (?) and former US Marshall, known as one of the best stump speakers of his day, from 1903 to 1909
- Clarence B. Miller, a Republican, from 1909 to 1919
- William Karss, a locomotive engineer from the “Union Labor” Party, from 1919 to 1921 and as part of the “Farmer-Labor” Party from 1925 to 1929.
- Oscar Larson, a Republican, served two terms between Karss’ terms, from ’21 to ’25
- Here, it gets complicated: William Pittinger served on three different occasions: from 1929 to 1933, from 1937 to 1937, and again from 1939 to 1947. He was the last Republican to hold the seat.
- John Bernard, a native of Corsica, an iron minor, and “Farmer-Labor” member who later came out as a member of the Communist Party and who cast the sole vote in Congress against an arms embargo against the Stalinist side in the Spanish Civil War, held the seat from for the 1937-’39 term.
- Pittinger turned the seat over to one John Blatnik, a DFLer who held the seat from 1947 until Oberstar’s election in ’74.
in CD8 ‘It’s Not the People Who Vote that Count; It’s the People Who Count the Votes’ is more than just a quote, its SOP which explains why when the other 85 counties are listing 97% of precincts reporting by midnight on election night St Louis County and Itasca County take until 6am or later the next day (due they claim to “ballot and reporting difficulties”). Communism isn’t dead on the range all you have to do is scratch the surface to find it.