ROCHESTER — Rep. Brad Finstad appeared poised to win his second two-year term representing Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, as unofficial vote tallies showed him winning 60% of the vote against DFL challenger Rachel Bohman’s 40% two hours after the closing of the polls, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website.
The percentages are based on a partial count of the district, totaling about 100,000 votes.
Finstad, a New Ulm farmer and small business owner, was first elected to Congress after winning a special election in 2022 following the death of then-Rep. Jim Hagedorn.
Finstad was seen as a prohibitive favorite in a 1st Congressional District that has become more conservative over the years. The district covers the full width of Minnesota, from west to east along its southern border.
Finstad is a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, and he also chairs an important subcommittee. Members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years and are paid $174,000.
Finstad criticized the Biden White House for policies that he believes have contributed to inflation and price instability. He also is a full-throated supporter of the energy sector.
“If you track back five years ago and you look at where we were in regards to the economy and how we were really kind of humming along, I think it all starts with energy and the ability for us to be dominant again in this country, to be an energy net exporter,” Finstad said in an October debate with Bohman.
As one of 10 working farmers in the 435-member House of Representatives, Finstad brings to Congress a unique understanding of the needs of food producers. On the campaign trail, Finstad frequently took the opportunity to highlight and remind constituents of his agricultural roots.
In a presidential election year in which neither major party candidate focused on the country’s soaring debt, Finstad has raised alarms about it. He says that the $35 trillion debt, and its interest payments which now surpass spending on the military, is a problem that needs immediate action.
While his legislative record so far is slim, Finstad has shown a bipartisan approach to legislating, partnering with Democrat and neighboring Rep. Angie Craig on agricultural policy.
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Bohman, a first-time candidate for Congress, campaigned on rising consumer prices, health care access and local business investment. She sought to position herself as a middle-of-the-road candidate to highlight what she argued was Finstad’s extremism, particularly on reproductive rights.
But she faced long odds in the race. Bohman didn’t announce her candidacy until February of this year. And political analysts viewed the seat as solidly Republican. Bohman received no support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a body that works to elect Democrats to Congress by raising funds and giving support to Democrats.
On the campaign trail, Bohman related her story as the daughter of a single mother and her family’s struggles with poverty and addiction as a child.
Bohman’s resume includes stints as the Hennepin County elections manager, Olmsted County assistant county attorney and an election to the Rochester Township Board.
Finstad is anti-abortion and argued that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade allowed the states to decide how the contentious issue should be resolved. Bohman said she would vote to reinstate Roe v. Wade at the national level.
