House Republicans added one new member to their number Tuesday as former Agriculture Department official Brad Finstad won a special election to serve out the term of the late GOP Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who died of cancer this past February.
Finstad, who emerged from a primary field of eight for the special election in Minnesota’s First Congressional district, led Democrat Jeff Ettinger by 4,920 votes with all precincts reporting.
In a victory statement released by his campaign, Finstad said the election was about the “direction of the country,” and he promised to fight the “extreme” agenda of President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Congress.
“I will work to slash inflation, get control of the border, restore American energy independence, and put our families first. You have my commitment that I will bring our Southern Minnesota values to Washington, DC and work hard for you every single day,” he said.
While Finstad won the special election, the results of a separate primary election ensured he’ll face Ettinger again in November to decide who will represent the redrawn First District for a full two-year term.
Ettinger, the former CEO of Hormel Foods and a first-time candidate, expressed optimism that he would pull off a surprise win next time.
“We both knew going into this that there was going to be a rematch in November,” he said, according to the Star Tribune. “A November race typically gets four times the turnout of an August race in Minnesota.”
In the Republican primary, Finstad defeated state Rep. Jeremy Munson, while Ettinger beat financial CEO George Kalberer and attorney James Rainwater on the Democratic side. In the days before the special election, Finstad told Minnesota Public Radio that he will concentrate on issues close to regular Americans whom he says have been ignored by the Biden administration.
“Everywhere I go in southern Minnesota, I’m hearing the exact same thing,” said Finstad, who spent six years in the Minnesota legislature before working in the Trump USDA.
“It’s family pocketbook issues. It’s gas prices. It’s food prices. It’s grocery store shelves being half full. It’s disruption in supply chain things like baby formula and other necessities that we’re just not normal to have shortages with. And people are just frustrated with it,” he said to MPR.
Ettinger defended the Biden White House as it struggles with high prices caused by the global supply chain backlog, and wondered why Finstad is focusing on the national political environment instead of him.
“I feel like he’s apparently running against Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, and not me,” Ettinger told MPR.
He said voters he talked with are worried about the logjam in Congress.
“I’m receiving great feedback from Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans who are sick of the gridlock and hostility in Washington and recognize that I have a long track record of getting things done,” Ettinger said. “And that’s what they’re looking for.”
Finstad’s win means the House now has 220 Democrats and 211 Republicans, with four vacancies. Three of the vacancies will be filled by special elections later this month.
Voters in Indiana’s Second District will choose the replacement for Rep. Jackie Walorski, who died in a car crash last week, on Election Day.
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