Jeff Ettinger says abortion rights are on the minds of 1st District voters
MINNEAPOLIS -- The election is just 22 days away, and the 700,000 voters in the 1st Congressional District will once again be electing a member of Congress.
It's a swing district that for years was in Democratic hands but increasingly is voting Republican. But this year, Democrats think they have a chance of winning this seat back.
The death of 1st District Congressman Jim Hagedorn from cancer last February triggered a series of elections to replace him.
In August, there was a special election to fill out the remaining 4.5 months of Hagedorn's term. The election pitted farmer and former Trump USDA appointee Brad Finstad, a Republican, against Jeff Ettinger, the former CEO of Hormel, who is a Democrat. Finstad won with 51% of the vote. Ettinger received 47%.
Now those two candidates are once again facing each other in November for the chance to serve a full two-year term.
The district has been trending Republican. Donald Trump won the first district in each of his presidential races.
On the campaign trail, Ettinger has stressed his support for abortion rights. Finstad is emphasizing the economy, which he says is the top issue for voters.
Last week, Finstad was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning at 10:30 a.m. This week Esme Murphy spoke with Ettinger.
He says abortion rights is something he is hearing more about from voters
"It has really vaulted up in terms of how often it gets mentioned and how passionately, and it's understandable," Ettinger said. "I mean, here is a right that women had for 50 years. It's suddenly just been stripped away from them."
Minnesota's 1st Congressional District stretches across southern Minnesota from the Wisconsin to the South Dakota borders. For many years, this district was represented in Congress by Tim Walz, who in 2016 won the district by just about 2,500 votes. Every election since has also been close.
You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Mike Augustyniak at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. every Sunday.
