MN-08 Democratic nominee?
$4.8K
AUG 12, 2026Primary Election
Party selects its nominee.
Overview
Current rolePhysician
PartyDemocratic
Political ideologyProgressive Democrat
LocationMinnesota
BackgroundPhysician
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Notable personal detailsWendell Robert Smith is a Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate for U.S. House in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District in the 2026 cycle. He is a general surgeon based in Virginia, Minnesota, and has said he has practiced medicine on the Iron Range for about two decades. He has also said he previously served in the U.S. Air Force.
SourcesShowHide
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.
News
Wendell Smith is in the news because of a Supreme Court decision affecting voting-rights enforcement. The Court let stand a ruling that limits private groups from bringing cases under Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act, leaving enforcement to the U.S. attorney general. The decision could make future voting-rights challenges harder to bring because it narrows who can sue.
Fundraising
Latest report: Cycle 20262026
LatestCycle 2026
Source: FEC
New updates coming soon
We're monitoring and will update when new data impacts the race.
- Polls
- Endorsements