Incumbent Rep. Brad Finstad wins Minnesota's 1st District race, CBS News projects
MINNEAPOLIS — Incumbent Rep. Brad Finstad will win Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, defeating challenger Rachel Bohman, CBS News projects.
Finstad, a Republican, has served as representative since 2022, when he won a special election to serve out the remaining term of the late Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who died of cancer earlier that year.
In August, Bohman ran uncontested for the Democratic primary.
The district stretches across southern Minnesota from the Wisconsin western border to South Dakota's eastern one. For many years, the district was represented in Congress by Gov. Tim Walz, who is now Kamala Harris' running mate in the 2024 election.
The candidates
Bohman is a Rochester native who has served as the head of elections for Hennepin County. She was also elected to the Rochester Township board before serving as assistant county attorney. Bohman and her husband have two daughters.
Finsted, a former state representative from the New Ulm area, also served as state director for USDA Rural Development during the Trump administration. He's a fourth-generation farmer. Finstad and his wife have seven children.
The key issues
In WCCO's 2024 Election Guide, Bohman said the key issues facing the people of her district are economic security, health care access and affordability, support for farmers and small businesses, and "fear over Republican attacks on our democracy and personal freedoms such as reproductive health and LGBTQI+ rights."
If elected, Bohman says one of her main goals would be getting a Farm Bill passed that "helps every farmer" while also providing adequate nutrition support for families, including children and the elderly. Two of her other big goals include passing a federal law for "full reproductive rights" and working on small business legislation that better supports rural communities.
Like Bohman, Finstad says his top priority has been the Farm Bill and working to ensure it is "written in a way that serves the needs of local farmers and rural communities."
Additionally, Finstad says he's sponsored legislation strengthening veterans' service, supporting his local agriculture industry and promoting rural manufacturing.
Finstad did not respond to this year's election guide, but in 2022 he told WCCO that he strives for "better, more civil" government, politics and "outcomes in what we do and what we strive to do to change our backyard and make it better."