Rep. Brad Finstad wins re-election; Ettinger concedes

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - Republican Brad Finstad wins reelection to U.S. House in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District.

Finstad was first elected to the seat in a special election in August, to fill out the remained of the term of the late congressman Jim Hagedorn. Finstad is a farmer and former state director for rural development for the USDA, executive director of the center for rural policy and development, member of the Minnesota house and executive director of the Minnesota Turkey growers association.

Early Wednesday, Democratic Congressional candidate in MN-1 Jeff Ettinger conceded victory to his opponent Brad Finstad.

“The voters of Southern Minnesota have spoken. I want to congratulate Brad Finstad on winning the election last night. Though I had hoped to celebrate different news, there is plenty for which to be hopeful. Tens of thousands of voters came out today to vote for a common-sense, moderate approach to representation. While that message did not carry us to victory, I believe that the voters of this district want an approach to governance that represents everyone in the district, not just one party or the other. I am honored and grateful to every single person who supported my campaign, voted for me, and took the time to listen to my message,” Ettinger said in a release.

“Congressman Brad Finstad has proven himself as a conservative fighter for his constituents. Since his election earlier this year, Congressman Finstad has been working hard to fight wasteful spending, protect Minnesota’s rights and be a voice for farmers and business owners. We are proud to congratulate Congressman Finstad on this well-deserved win.” – Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman David Hann

With winning re-election, Finstad will now serve a full 2-year term in congress.

Throughout the night, Finstad continued to spread his message of working to build back a strong economy, lower gas prices and at the end of the night, restated how he wants to fire Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.

“We are taking the majority in the US House of Representatives and, with that, comes leadership,” explained Finstad. “So, Nancy Pelosi was the current speaker has more votes because of the Democrats in charge, and we will have more votes as Republicans, and one of the first votes that we will do is to elect a new Speaker.”

Finstad beat his challenger Jeff Ettinger with just under 54% of the vote.

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