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MINNEAPOLIS — The election is just 29 days away and the 700,000 voters in the 1st Congressional District will once again be electing a member of Congress.
It’s a swing district that for years was in Democratic hands but increasingly is voting Republican.
The death of 1st District Congressman Jim Hagedotn from cancer last February triggered a series of elections to replace him.
In August, there was a special election to fill out the remaining 4 1/2 months of Hagedorn’s term. The election pitted farmer and former Trump USDA appointee Brad Finstad, a Republican, against Jeff Ettinger, the former CEO of Hormel, who is a Democrat. Finstad won with 51% of the vote. Ettinger received 47%.
Now those two candidates are once again facing each other in November for the chance to serve a full two-year term.
The district has been trending Republican. Donald Trump won the first district in each of his presidential races by more than 10 percentage points.
On the campaign trail, Ettinger has stressed his support for abortion rights. Finstad is emphasizing the economy, which he says is the top issue for voters.
Finstad was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning.
“It’s family pocketbook issues. And I hear it from the South Dakota border to the Wisconsin border, all along the Iowa-Minnesota border … 21 counties that I’ve been in in southern Minnesota’s 1st District,” he said. “It’s the price of gas, it’s the price of food, supply chain disruptions, inflation, watching the 401Ks plummet.”
Ettinger will be a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 16.
Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District stretches across southern Minnesota from the Wisconsin to the South Dakota borders. For many years, this district was represented in Congress by Tim Walz, who in 2016 won the district by just about 2,500 votes. Every election since has been close.
You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Mike Augustyniak at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. every Sunday.
Source: CBS
