Rep. Brad Finstad wins rematch with Jeff Ettinger in 1st District
MINNEAPOLIS -- Rep. Brad Finstad has won his rematch with Jeff Ettinger in Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, AP projects.
MORE: See full 2022 results here
Finstad won a special election in August to serve out the remaining term of late Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who died of cancer in February. Ettinger came within 4 percentage points of winning the swing district that was in Democratic hand for years but is now increasingly Republican.
Finstad will serve a full term.
Finstad stressed what he called "family pocketbook issues" ahead of the election. He said his constituents were concerned about "the price of gas, it's the price of food, supply chain disruptions, inflation, watching the 401Ks plummet." Finstad is a former state representative, farmer and a Trump appointee to the Department of Agriculture.
Ettinger, the retired CEO of Hormel, stressed his support for abortion rights, saying the issue has "really vaulted up in terms of how often it gets mentioned and how passionately, and it's understandable."
Minnesota's 1st Congressional District stretches across southern Minnesota from the Wisconsin border to South Dakota's. For many years, the district was represented in Congress by Tim Walz, who in 2016 won the district by just about 2,500 votes. Every election since has also been close.
