Who's In the Race

Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN) faces Democrat Jake Johnson in the November 3 general election in Minnesota's 1st District. ​

Finstad, a fourth-generation farmer from the New Ulm area, has represented the district since 2022, after serving in the Minnesota Legislature and as the state director for USDA Rural Development. He won the Aug. 11 Republican primary with about 90% of the vote over Greg Goetzman.

Johnson has taught high-school mathematics in Rochester for about 20 years, including remedial math and AP Calculus, and previously served as a union governmental-relations coordinator whose work, his campaign says, helped improve conditions for more than 1,000 teachers, nurses, and counselors. He won the Aug. 11 Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary with about 82% of the vote over Alex Eaton.

What They Stand For

Finstad has argued that federal farm policy should be "written by farmers for farmers," according to his official House agriculture page. He's also supported reducing red tape and working toward balanced budgets, strengthening rural hospitals, supporting health workers in underserved areas, and expanding telehealth, energy independence through a mix of nuclear, oil, natural gas, renewables, and emerging technologies while safeguarding the environment.

Johnson has proposed lowering costs by ending tariffs, challenging corporate monopolies and health insurers, and making it easier to build homes and expand childcare, according to his campaign priorities page. He's also supported a balanced-budget amendment and opposing raising the debt ceiling until the budget is balanced, congressional term limits and a ban on members trading stocks or becoming lobbyists, passing a bipartisan farm bill, protecting farmers' right to repair equipment, and safeguarding Social Security, Medicare, and veterans benefits, and a moratorium on data centers until what he calls key protections are guaranteed.

The Money Behind the Race

Through July 22, Brad Finstad had raised about $2.03 million and held about $1.28 million in cash on hand, while Jake Johnson had raised about $2.00 million and held about $1.01 million, giving Finstad a cash-on-hand edge of roughly $272,000. Finstad and Johnson have raised nearly equal totals, $2.03 million and $2.00 million, but Finstad held a $272,000 cash-on-hand advantage as of July 22.

Race Outlook: Ratings and Betting Markets

The Cook Political Report rated the race "Likely Republican" as of Oct. 9; Sabato's Crystal Ball also called it "Likely Republican" as of Oct. 11; and Inside Elections rated it "Lean Republican" as of Oct. 2. On Kalshi, traders gave Republicans a 76.24% chance of winning as of Oct. 15.

Finstad carried the district with about 54% in 2022 and about 59% in 2024, a gain of about five percentage points over two cycles. Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats split evenly in 2022, with Democrats and Republicans each winning four. Democrat Kamala Harris carried Minnesota in the 2024 presidential race with about 51% of the vote. Finstad won the 1st District with 58.5% in 2024, up from 53.8% in 2022, and all three major race raters now rate the 2026 contest at least "Lean Republican."

---

AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.

---

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article