Special election to decide who will fill Rep. Hagedorn’s seat

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - With Congressman Hagedorn’s passing, a special election will be held to find a replacement to fill the remainder of his current term in the House.

“So Aug. 9, 2022 is when we already had the scheduled primary election for the regular election scheduled. That’ll also be the date that we’ll have the special election to elect Rep. Hagedorn’s successor,” Blue Earth County Elections Administrator Michael Stalberger said.

Hagedorn’s successor will fill out the rest of his term before the November election decides who will represent District One for the next two years.

While August might be a while away, Stalberger said the extra time is needed in a unique election year like 2022.

“The reason for the delay until August is because this is a partisan office. What that means is we have a potential that we’ll have to have a primary if more than one candidate files to replace Rep. Hagedorn from each political party,” Stalberger said.

The special primary election will take place May 24.

An additional detail the state is paying attention to, how the new redistricting maps released earlier this week, which impact parts of District One, will play a role.

According to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office, the special election will take place within the current congressional district boundaries, not the new 2022 redistricting maps.

Meanwhile, Hagedorn’s seat will stay open in Washington D.C. until the election, according to Dr. Fred Slocum, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

“Because of the timing of this between 27 and 22 weeks before I believe Election Day, the governor has to call a special election,” he said.