By STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former state Rep. Brad Finstad and Rep. Jeremy Munson were well ahead in early returns Tuesday as a crowded field of Republicans sought to complete the congressional term of the late U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn.
Meanwhile, former Hormel Foods CEO Jeff Ettinger was a solid early leader among an equally deep group of Democrats vying in that party’s special primary.
The winners will meet in August to determine who will finish the last few months of Hagedorn’s term. The stakes are likely higher than that, though, with the winners expecting a bump in their chances to win a full term later in November.
Other Republican hopefuls include Hagedorn’s widow, Jennifer Carnahan. All three played up their admiration for former President Donald Trump while trying to set themselves apart from their rivals.
Political Cartoons
Trump did not endorse in the race.
Carnahan brought baggage to the race, including being forced out as chairwoman of the state Republican Party last year after a prominent donor was indicted on sex-trafficking charges and former staffers complained of a toxic work environment. She also was sued by Hagedorn’s mother, stepfather and sister this month in a dispute over money they loaned to help cover his medical bills.
Munson portrayed himself as the true conservative in the race, with national endorsements from figures such as Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Jim Jordan. He narrowly missed endorsement by 1st District Republicans last month.
Finstad, meanwhile, had support from establishment Republicans such as U.S. Reps. Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber of Minnesota. He also had the pedigree of serving in the Trump administration as state director for USDA Rural Development in Minnesota.
On the Democratic side, Ettinger, who is making his first foray into politics, raised significantly more money than a handful of rivals. Those included University of Minnesota law professor Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer in President George W. Bush’s administration, and progressive activist Sarah Brakebill-Hacke.
The process that will follow Tuesday’s primary is complicated. The winners will run in an Aug. 9 special general election that coincides with Minnesota’s statewide primary the same day.
The winner of the special general election, who will fill out the rest of Hagedorn’s term into January, presumably will also win the district’s regular primary that same day. That should give him or her an advantage heading into the November general election, which will determine who holds the seat in the next Congress.
The seat stretches across Minnesota’s southern border, and is mostly rural and agricultural except for big population centers in Mankato and Rochester.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.