Rep. Brad Finstad said he will seek reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026.
Finstad has represented Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District since winning a special election in August 2022 following the death of Jim Hagedorn. He won his first election in November 2022 and then was reelected in November 2024.
“It has been an honor of a lifetime to represent my friends and neighbors across southern Minnesota in Congress,” said Finstad in a statement released Monday.
“There is a lot of hard work to be done, but I know America’s best days are still ahead of us,” he said.
Finstad, a New Ulm farmer, previously served three terms in the Minnesota Legislature. He also served as State Director for USDA Rural Development in Minnesota under the first Trump administration.
Finstad easily won reelection in 2024 against DFL opponent Rachel Bohman 59% to 42% to represent a district that has increasingly tilted rightward in the last several elections. The last Democrat to hold office representing the 1st District, which stretches across southern Minnesota, was Gov. Tim Walz, who held it from 2006 to 2017.
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