House District 08A
- Bill Hilty - DFL (Campaign Finance Bd.)
- Tim Hafvenstein - R (Campaign Finance Bd.)
Part rural, part suburban. The district is home to Jay Cooke State Park, Moose Lake State Park, the National Kayak Center, the University of Minnesota Forestry Center, Banning State Park (with some of the best whitewater rafting in the state), St. Croix State Park and the Moose Lake Depot and Fires of 1918 Museum. A 27-foot monument memorializes the hundreds of people who lost their lives in the Moose Lake, the second largest fire in the nation. The Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College is located in Cloquet. Cloquet has a strong business community with wood production companies like Sappi Fine Paper N.A., USG and Diamond Brands as the community's main business anchors, and, of course, the Frank Lloyd Wright designed gas station. Politically, the district generally identifies with the organized labor faction of the DFL.
To get a much better picture of each candidate's prospects, your best bet is to order the 2007-2008 Politics in Minnesota Directory, which includes election histories for each incumbent, the vote percentages for major candidates in each district and much more in addition to the maps and district descriptions below. Buy the Directory here. Please note that the district maps and written descriptions are copyrighted. We encourage you to link to the pages, but printing them for dissemination requires the permission of the publisher. To get permission, write to staff@politicsinminnesota.com.
Also, please note that some incumbents do not yet have opponents. Candidate filings close July 15, 2008.
Morning Reports
8A Race 2008
Rep. Hilty's 2006 opponent, Tim Hafvenstein, is expected to run again. The strong DFL lean of the district obviously favors Hilty, but Hafvenstein will outwork the incumbent, and may surprise him in some precincts.