MN-08 Democratic nominee?
$1.7K
AUG 12, 2026Primary Election
Party selects its nominee.
Overview
Current roleSurgeon
PartyDemocratic
Political ideologyProgressive Democrat
GenderMale
LocationMinnesota
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BackgroundSurgeon
Notable personal detailsWendell Robert Smith is a surgeon and U.S. Air Force veteran who became a candidate for the U.S. House in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District (MN-08) in the 2026 cycle. He filed with the Federal Election Commission as a Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) challenger and formed the committee “Wendell Smith for Congress.” He announced his run on March 4, 2026, and later stated he was suspending his campaign after the May 2, 2026 DFL endorsing convention in Lindstrom.
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Positions
Economy & Taxes
Wendell Smith supports Medicare for All and restoring funding cut from Medicare/Medicaid and the Department of Education, backs stronger worker rights and unions, and favors raising the minimum wage. His platform emphasizes expanding government-provided healthcare and investing in social programs to protect rural hospitals and public services. These positions imply support for progressive fiscal policy to fund expanded social spending.
Healthcare
The candidate supports enacting a single-payer, universal healthcare system and calls it the only acceptable solution to the current healthcare crisis. He emphasizes protecting healthcare access and warns that cuts to Medicare and Medicaid threaten rural hospitals.
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Climate & Energy
Supports treating climate change as an urgent threat and making the U.S. a leader in clean energy while emphasizing job creation in the clean-energy sector; also supports responsible mining to protect local union jobs and regional economic interests. The campaign platform links climate action with economic growth and energy affordability.
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We're monitoring and will update when new data impacts the race.
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