REGIONAL — Two lifelong Iron Rangers are facing off this election season for a legislative seat that could determine which party controls the state House next year.
GOP incumbent Cal Warwas is seeking re-election to a second term in House District 7B, but he is facing a challenge from Dan Horoshak, of Eveleth, a staunchly pro-union DFLer who says he’s looking to help a region that’s struggling economically.
Spanning from Angora to Grand Lake across a wide expanse of northern St. Louis County, the territory that encompasses 7B was a DFL stronghold for nearly a century. As the Iron Range population has declined, what had traditionally been an Iron Range-centric district continued to expand, mostly to the west into friendlier terrain for Republicans. The shifting political tides associated with the rise of Donald Trump also affected voter preferences in the region, which allowed Warwas to win the seat in 2024, the first Republican to do so in 96 years.
Warwas said he believes the region’s political shift was partly driven by “a perception that the Democrat party, especially south of the Iron Range, doesn’t care about our core industries or respect its people,” as well as the emergence of “pro-union Republican candidates, home-grown in these districts.”
Horoshak, a fifth-generation Iron Ranger from Eveleth and a self-described union Democrat, said he entered the race because he’s seeing troubling signs that the region’s economy is downshifting again.
“I wanted to help the Range. I wanted to, you know, give back and everything else. This is my home,” Horoshak said. “We have a lot of problems that are happening now.”
Horoshak said he remembers economic downturns from his time growing up in the area and does not want to see the region experience those conditions yet again.
“When I went to high school, the mines were kind of idled. I just saw down the street people selling. First, it’s the boats, then it’s the four-wheelers, then it’s their extra car, and then it’s their house, and I don’t want to see that again,” Horoshak said.

Mining and jobs
Both candidates have emphasized the importance of the mining industry, but they approach the issue from different perspectives.
Warwas, who has worked for U.S. Steel for decades, said his career in mining has shaped his understanding of the region and its workforce.
“Getting the full scope of mining and working in a place that employs over 1,400 people gives me a broader understanding of people, especially working people,” Warwas said.
Warwas said the region should continue to pursue economic diversification but argued that mining remains central to the Iron Range economy.
“Everyone outside the Iron Range wants us to break the ebb and flow cycles that exist in the mining industry and ‘just do something else,’ as if it’s just that easy,” Warwas said.
He pointed to tourism developments such as Redhead Mountain Bike Park as an example of economic activity outside traditional mining but said many such projects benefit from mining-generated tax revenue.
“Never forget that mining supports our present and future,” Warwas said.
Horoshak also strongly supports mining and said potential copper-nickel projects could provide jobs, but he emphasized that those jobs should be union jobs.
“I am union first. Those are going to be union jobs when they do come in. I mean, we will do it right. We have to do it right,” Horoshak said.
Horoshak said proposed mining projects should go through the permitting process rather than being stopped through executive action.
“I don’t think there would be a problem,” Horoshak said. “We should have an outside assessor instead of a political fight about something. I just would rather have it go by the facts.”
Horoshak also said environmental concerns should be considered as projects move through the permitting process.
“We all want to do it clean,” Horoshak said.

Schools, housing and infrastructure,
While mining is a central issue for both candidates, Horoshak has also emphasized education, housing and infrastructure.
Horoshak said schools in the region are struggling financially and argued for greater support for public schools and smaller class sizes. He said he is concerned that families are leaving public schools and that declining enrollment can further strain school finances.
“I think we should hire more teachers,” Horoshak said. “I think we should have smaller classrooms, better time for teachers to actually teach the kids.”
Horoshak also opposes expanding voucher programs, arguing that they do not cover the full cost of private school tuition.
“If you have a private school, yeah, they have vouchers, but it doesn’t cover the whole thing. So even poor kids can’t pay that extra amount,” Horoshak said.
Housing is another issue Horoshak said should be addressed alongside infrastructure improvements. He said the region lacks some of the infrastructure necessary to attract new residents and businesses.
“When I say infrastructure, I mean like there’s roads, there’s housing,” Horoshak said. “Mainly the biggest one is probably housing.”

Different priorities, similar emphasis on the Range
Warwas said his priorities this election cycle are “stopping fraud, lowering property taxes, sustaining and expanding mining on the Range, and protecting your Second Amendment rights.”
During his first term, Warwas served in a tied Minnesota House, where legislation required negotiations between the two parties.
“The bills we passed took intense negotiation, and no one could get everything they wanted,” Warwas said. “We could have done nothing but fight — and there were fights — but we managed to set the budget to avoid a massive deficit, get some property tax relief, pare down tab fees for a year, and pass a bill to create the Office of Inspector General.”
The Legislature approved legislation creating the Office of Inspector General in 2026. The office is intended to investigate allegations of fraud or misuse in state-administered programs and is scheduled to become fully operational in 2027.
Horoshak said his focus would remain primarily on issues affecting the Iron Range rather than national political debates.
“I’m running on issues for the Iron Range. I don’t care about national politics,” Horoshak said. “It shouldn’t matter to Minnesota at all.”
Despite their differences, both candidates said they value working across party lines.
“I don’t like saying Democrat or Republican,” Horoshak said. “The older I get, the more I’m like, you know, just let’s get this done, let’s work together.”
Warwas similarly pointed to his experience working alongside people with different perspectives in the mining industry.
“We go into policy discussions bringing our ideas, but my career has helped me understand that everyone brings something to the table, and all people matter, even when we don’t agree,” Warwas said.
For both candidates, their disagreements center less on whether the region needs jobs and investment than on how the region should pursue them, with Warwas emphasizing mining, while Horoshak has focused on unions, public schools, and infrastructure.
Both candidates will be on the ballot on Nov. 3.