Brad Finstad
StateMinnesota
Term startAugust 9, 2022[a]
PredecessorJim Hagedorn
State house 1Minnesota
District 121B
Term start 1January 7, 2003
Term end 1January 5, 2009
Predecessor 1Richard Mulder
Successor 1Paul Torkelson
Birth nameBradley Howard Finstad
Birth dateMay 30, 1976 (age 50)
Birth placeNew Ulm, Minnesota, U.S.
PartyRepublican
SpouseJaclyn
EducationUniversity of Minnesota (BS)
WebsiteHouse website
Campaign website

Bradley Howard Finstad (born May 30, 1976) is an American politician serving since 2022 as the U.S. representative for . Finstad represents a section of southern Minnesota along the border with Iowa. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009.

Finstad previously served as an area director for the Minnesota Farm Bureau and as the agricultural policy advisor to U.S. representative Mark Kennedy. In 2002, he was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, where he served three terms. In 2017 President Donald Trump appointed Finstad as the USDA Rural Development director for Minnesota. He served until shortly after Trump left office in 2021.[1] In addition to his government service, Finstad operates a family farm.[2]

Finstad was elected to represent Minnesota's 1st congressional district in a 2022 special election, to finish the term of the late Jim Hagedorn.

Early life and education

Finstad was born in New Ulm, Minnesota, on May 30, 1976.[3][4] A fourth-generation resident of the area, he grew up on his family's farm in Brown County, Minnesota, which his family has operated for several generations.[1] He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural education from the University of Minnesota.[5]

Early political career

After graduating from college, Finstad joined the human resources department of Christensen Family Farms in Brown County, Minnesota. He later briefly worked as an area director for the Minnesota Farm Bureau before joining the staff of Congressman Mark Kennedy, serving as an agricultural advisor.

Finstad was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2002 and took office in 2003. During his final term in the legislature, he served as assistant minority leader. He also served on the Rural Health Advisory Committee under Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty.[6] He left the House in 2009.

From 2008 to 2017, Finstad was CEO of the Center for Rural Policy and Development, a nonprofit policy research organization based in St. Peter, Minnesota. He also worked for an agricultural research and consulting company. In November 2017, President Donald Trump appointed Finstad as Minnesota state director of USDA Rural Development.[7] Finstad left this position after Trump left office in 2021.

Finstad next joined the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association as interim executive director.[8] He left this position in 2022.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022 special

See also: 2022 Minnesota's 1st congressional district special election

After Congressman Jim Hagedorn died in office, Finstad announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination to serve the rest of Hagedorn's term in the 2022 Minnesota's 1st congressional district special election.[9][10][11] In the May 24 special Republican primary election, Finstad defeated state representative Jeremy Munson and seven other candidates to win the nomination[12] with 38.1% of the vote to Munson's 36.9%, Jennifer Carnahan's 8.0%, and Matt Benda's 7.2%, with several other candidates splitting the rest of the vote.[13] Finstad won the August 2022 special election by around 4 points against Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) nominee Jeff Ettinger, former CEO of Hormel and a first-time candidate.

2022

Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota#District 1

Winning a second primary against Munson, Finstad defeated Ettinger again in the November 8 general election,[12] with 53.9% of the vote to Ettinger's 42.3%.[14]

2024

Main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota#District 1

Finstad was elected to a third term in the November 5 general election, defeating Rachel Bohman with 58.5% of the vote to Bohman's 41.4%.[15]

Tenure

Finstad was sworn in by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on August 12, 2022.[16] Later that day he voted against the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.[17]

Caucus memberships

Committee assignments

For the 119th Congress:[22]

Political positions

Federal debt ceiling

Finstad was among the 71 House Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.[23] He voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[24][25]

Vote to defund vice president

On November 8, 2023, Finstad joined 100 other Republicans voting in favor of an amendment to a large appropriations bill that would prohibit funding for the Office of Vice President Kamala Harris.[26][27]

Personal life

Finstad is Catholic.[28]

References

  1. ^ "Trump Administration Appoints Brad Finstad to Serve as State Director for USDA Rural Development in Minnesota". Rural Development. 2017-11-29. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  2. ^ "Farmer and ex-legislator Finstad declared winner of Hagedorn seat". Roll Call. 2022-08-10. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  3. ^ "Finstad, Brad - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  4. ^ "Brad Finstad"
  5. ^ "Brad Finstad". www.acg.org. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  6. ^ "GOVERNOR PAWLENTY APPOINTS NINE TO THE RURAL HEALT". www.leg.mn.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  7. ^ "Trump Administration Appoints Brad Finstad to Serve as State Director for USDA Rural Development in Minnesota". Rural Development. 2017-11-29. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  8. ^ "Brad Finstad; MTGA; Minnesota Turkey; MTRPC". www.minnesotaturkey.com. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  9. ^ Hanley, Ashley (2022-03-07). "Farmer, Former State Representative & Trump USDA Appointee Brad Finstad to Run for Congress". KTOE. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  10. ^ "Republicans Jeremy Munson, Brad Finstad join the scrum for 1st District special election". Rochester Post Bulletin. 2022-03-07. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  11. ^ Former Hormel Foods CEO joins Minnesota congressional race, Associated Press (March 10, 2022).
  12. ^ Matthew Stolle, Finstad wins GOP congressional special election primary; Ettinger wins DFL primary, Post Bulletin (May 25, 2022).
  13. ^ Minnesota First Congressional District Special Primary Election Results, The New York Times (2022).
  14. ^ "Minnesota Election Results". Bloomberg. November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  15. ^ Krohn, Tim (2024-11-05). "Finstad reelected to U.S. Dist. 1". Mankato Free Press. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  16. ^ Tribune, Jessie Van Berkel Star. "Minnesota's newly elected GOP U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad sworn in". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  17. ^ "Finstad sworn in on another contentious day in Congress". MinnPost. 2022-08-12. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  18. ^ "Candidates". RMSP PAC. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  19. ^ "Caucus Memberships". Congressional Western Caucus. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  20. ^ "Leadership | Republican Study Committee". rsc-pfluger.house.gov. 2025-02-19. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  21. ^ "Committees and Caucuses". United States Congressman Brad Finstad. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  22. ^ "Brad Finstad". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  23. ^ "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". June 2023.
  24. ^ Demirjian, Karoun (2023-10-25). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  25. ^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154 & p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (2023-10-25). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  26. ^ Anthony Adragna, "The House did not pass a push to defund Kamala Harris' office — but 106 Republicans voted yes.", Politico, 11/8/2023.
  27. ^ Clerk of US House of Representatives, Legislative Information, HR 4664, Collins of Georgia Part B Amendment No. 44, 1:21PM, Roll Call 633.
  28. ^ Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress. Pew Research Center. 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-04-08.

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  1. ^ Finstad's official service begins on the date of the special election, while he was not sworn in until August 12, 2022.[29]