An Open Letter to Pete Stauber

Congressman Stauber,

My name is Jeremiah Liend. I am running as an independent candidate for Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District under the motto “Liberty and Justice for All.”  This is a funds-free campaign. I am not accepting donations, endorsements, or spending campaign money. If I appear on the ballot, it will be because voters sign the petition to make it so. If I fail to meet that threshold, I will suspend my campaign. I am writing to you publicly, not to escalate rhetoric, but to clarify something that I believe is increasingly important in our political climate.

In 2020, when I ran for state office, I wrote to my opponent and pledged that my campaign would not engage in personal attacks. I made clear that policy, record, and effectiveness would be the standards of scrutiny. I renew that same commitment now. This district deserves a campaign centered on the real issues facing our constituents. Northern Minnesota faces serious and complex challenges: healthcare access in rural communities, the stability and availability of jobs, broadband expansion, inflation pressures on working families, veterans’ services, environmental stewardship of our lakes and forests, and the long-term economic viability of our region. These are not abstract debates. They affect the daily lives of people in Bemidji, Red Lake, Duluth, Grand Rapids, Brainerd, and all communities in between.

My criticisms of your record will be direct. They will be specific. They will be evidence-based. But they will not be personal. If I question votes you have taken, it is because those votes affect real people here at home. If I challenge statements you have made, it is because clarity and accountability are essential to representative government. If I argue that different priorities would better serve this district, that is not an attack on your character; it is a disagreement about public service and representation. There is a difference between criticizing a job performance and assassinating character. One is necessary in a democracy, the other corrodes it.

I believe we have reached a point where political discourse often collapses that distinction. Disagreement is treated as hostility. Accountability is reframed as animosity. But our district is capable of better. The people you represent deserve better. My platform centers on unity, reason, and accountability. Unity does not mean silence. Reason does not mean conformity. Accountability does not mean cruelty. It means that elected officials should be able to defend their records clearly and directly, and challengers should be able to question those records without being accused of personal malice.

As an incumbent, you have access to significant campaign resources, national networks, and party infrastructure. I do not. I am asking for something much simpler: that this campaign remain focused on the substantive issues affecting the people of Minnesota’s Eighth District, rather than on caricatures, insinuations, or attempts to delegitimize criticism by resorting to personal attack. Our neighbors are not abstractions. They are families trying to afford groceries. They are workers balancing economic challenges with personal responsibility. They are small business owners navigating rising costs. They are veterans seeking care. They are students wondering whether they can build a future here. They deserve a campaign that respects their intelligence.

I am committed to running a campaign that avoids personal attacks and remains grounded in issues, policy differences, and governing philosophy. I invite you to do the same. Democracy is strongest when disagreement is sharp but respectful, when debate is rigorous but grounded in fact, and when we remember that after Election Day, we all still live here together.

Liberty and Justice for All is not a pledge exclusive to one party or another. It is a reminder that public service is about inclusion, not alienation. I look forward to a campaign focused on substance and grounded in respect. Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Jeremiah Liend

Turtle River, Minnesota