2010Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
2010 election for Minnesota's 8th District
U.S. House · Minnesota
Chip Cravaack (R) won with 48.2% of the vote, defeating James Oberstar (D) by 1.6 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Chip CravaackRepublican · winner
48.2%133,490
James OberstarDemocrat
46.6%129,091
Timothy OlsonIndependent
4.3%11,876
Richard "george" BurtonConstitution
0.9%2,492
277,081 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2010
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
James OberstarChip Cravaack
$1.8M
Raised by the campaign
$659.6K
$2.2M
Spent by the campaign
$630.7K
$292.1K
Cash on hand
$28.9K
Other candidates' campaigns: Timothy Olson $3.5K.
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 2010.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 2010
The candidates
Chip Cravaack (R)James Oberstar (D)
Also on the ballot: Timothy Olson (Independent), 4.3%; Richard "george" Burton (Constitution), 0.9%