No. 2: Finstad elected to Congress following death of Hagedorn

Dec. 30—Republican Brad Finstad beat Democrat Jeff Ettinger in the 1st District congressional race in November. The race was a rematch just months after voters cast ballots in a special election to fill out the term of late U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn.

Hagedorn, who represented southern Minnesota in the U.S. House since 2019, died Feb. 17 after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 59.

Finstad won the two-year term by a 54%-42% margin, with Mankatoan Richard Reisdorf, of the Legal Marijuana Now Party, and Brian Abrahamson, of the Grassroots Legalize Cannabis Party, each getting about 2% of the vote.

Finstad, of New Ulm, had earlier topped Ettinger, of Austin, by a 51-47% margin in a special election in August.

At a time of often-angry campaigns and politics, both men decried the vitriol that dominates current politics and ran a civil campaign.

"That's the southern Minnesota way," Finstad said in an interview last fall about being able to disagree respectfully.

Ettinger agreed. "Brad is much more oriented in not name calling and throwing elbows and screaming, and I've campaigned trying to be a caring, listening person. Hopefully that comes across to people," he said.

Finstad, a farmer, graduate of the University of Minnesota and soil lab operator, served in the state Legislature and headed the regional USDA Rural Development Office in the Trump administration.

Ettinger, an attorney, moved from California to Austin more than 30 years ago to join Hormel Foods and retired in 2016 after 11 years as the company's CEO. He heads the Hormel Foundation, which donates funds to charities.

Finstad said the economy, inflation, the cost of groceries and fuel, as well as crime, are at the forefront for voters in the district, which sprawls across all of southern Minnesota.

Ettinger agreed economic issues are a top concern, but said it's simplistic to blame inflation on President Joe Biden or Democrats.

Hagedorn

Hagedorn, born in Blue Earth, was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in February 2019, just a month after being sworn into a position once held by his father — a post he had sought doggedly over nine years and multiple defeats before claiming his first victory in November 2018.

A conservative Republican and steadfast supporter of former President Donald Trump, Hagedorn continued to serve in the House even after having a kidney removed and undergoing cancer treatments, winning a second term in 2020.

He announced a recurrence of the cancer in the summer of 2021 but pledged to continue his congressional work and — just two days before his death — reiterated plans to seek reelection this year.

His death was announced by his wife, former Minnesota Republican Party Chair Jennifer Carnahan.

In May, Carnahan ran in the special Republican primary to be the party nominee to replace her husband in the special election. She came in third, behind Finstad and Jeremy Munson of Lake Crystal, garnering just 8% of the primary vote.

Hagedorn spent his early childhood on a farm in rural Truman but later lived nine months of the year in the nation's capital after his father, Tom Hagedorn, was elected in 1974 to represent the region in Congress. The younger Hagedorn received his high school and college education in Washington and pursued a career there, working in a congressional office and for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

He also created the "Mr. Conservative" blog, which he wrote for eight years starting late in 2000. He discontinued the blog, which contained several offensive posts for which he later apologized.

He was a vocal champion of Trump's campaign.

Hagedorn's congressional work generated strong marks by some organizations representing agriculture, veterans and small businesses, along with gun-rights advocates.

His relatively short tenure in Congress prompted scrutiny as well, including an ethics investigation related to his oversight of spending irregularities by his congressional office. He and his wife also came under criticism for their relationship with major Republican donor Anton Lazarro after he was indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges.