The 2022 Minnesota's 1st congressional district special election was a special election held on August 9, 2022. The seat became vacant when incumbent Republican representative

Jim Hagedorn James Lee Hagedorn ( ; August 4, 1962 – February 17, 2022) was an American politician from Minnesota. A Republican, he was the U.S. representative for from 2019 until his death. The district stretches across southern Minnesota along the borde ...

died on February 17, 2022, from

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include ...

. A primary was held on May 24, 2022, with the special election being held eleven weeks later, on August 9, alongside state primaries for other races. The special election was won by Republican

Brad Finstad Bradley Howard Finstad (born May 30, 1976) is an American politician, farmer, and agricultural consultant serving as the U.S. representative for since 2022. Finstad represents a large section of southern Minnesota situated along the border with ...

by a margin of 3.9%.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

, former Minnesota Director of

USDA Rural Development USDA Rural Development (RD) is a mission area within the United States Department of Agriculture which runs programs intended to improve the economy and quality of life in rural parts of the United States. Rural Development has a loan portfolio o ...

and former

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Eliminated in primary

*Matt Benda,

agricultural law Agricultural law, sometimes referred to as Ag Law, deals with such legal issues as agricultural cooperatives, seed, water, fertilizer, pesticide use, agricultural finance, agricultural labour, agricultural marketing, agricultural insurance, far ...

attorney * Jennifer Carnahan, former chair of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Minnesota and the oldest active political party in the state. Founded in 1855, the party is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, E ...

and Hagedorn's widow *Bob Carney Jr., perennial candidate *J. R. Ewing, general manager of a biofuels plant * Kevin Kocina,

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

veteran * Jeremy Munson,

Nels Pierson Nels Pierson (born December 29, 1972) is an American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represented the 26B district in southeastern Minn ...

*Roger Ungemach, engineer and business analyst

Withdrawn

*Ken Navitsky, sales executive and former

Minnesota State University Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 145,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

placekicker ''(running for state senate)''

Declined

*Jason Baskin,

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

city councilor * Carla Nelson,

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

''( running for re-election, endorsed Pierson)'' * Julie Rosen,

''(endorsed Finstad)''

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary

Candidates

Nominee

Jeff Ettinger Jeffrey Martin Ettinger (born October 18, 1958) is an American corporate executive, businessman, philanthropist, politician, and attorney who served as the interim President of the University of Minnesota from 2023 to 2024. He was previously CEO ...

, corporate executive and former CEO of

Hormel Foods Hormel Foods Corporation, doing business as Hormel Foods or simply Hormel, is an American multinational food processing company founded in 1891 in Austin, Minnesota, by George A. Hormel as George A. Hormel & Company. The company originally fo ...

Eliminated in primary

*Warren Lee Anderson, retiree of retail *Sarah Brakebill-Hacke,

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

candidate at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and former business owner in direct voter contact *Candice Deal-Bartell, founder of Cultivate Mankato, founding board member of CultivateMN, and early childhood education advocate *Richard DeVoe, Red Wing bookseller *George H. Kalberer, CEO and president of Kalberer Financial Management and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018 (Washington) *

Richard Painter Richard William Painter (born October 3, 1961) is an American lawyer, professor, and political candidate. From 2005 to 2007 Painter was the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration. He is the S. Walter Richey Professor ...

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, a public university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Pa ...

professor, former White House ethics lawyer under President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018 *James Rainwater, attorney-mediator and arbitrator

Declined

*Dan Feehan, U.S. Army veteran, former

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

official, nominee for this district in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Endorsements

Results

Legal Marijuana Now primary

Candidate

Nominee

*Richard B. Reisdorf, veteran

Results

Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis primary

Candidates

Nominee

* Haroun McClellan, attorney and contracts manager

Results

General election

Predictions

Post-primary endorsements

Polling

Results

Notes

Partisan clients

References

External links

Official campaign websites
Jeff Ettinger (DFL) for CongressBrad Finstad (R) for Congress
{{2022 United States elections Minnesota 01 special United States House of Representatives 01 special United States House of Representatives 2022 01 2022 01 special