Brad Finstad | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's1st district | |
| Assumed office August 12, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Hagedorn |
| Member of theMinnesota House of Representatives from the 21B district | |
| In office January 7, 2003 – January 5, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Mulder |
| Succeeded by | Paul Torkelson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bradley Howard Finstad (1976-05-30)May 30, 1976 (age 49) New Ulm, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Jaclyn |
| Children | 7 |
| Education | University of Minnesota (BS) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Bradley Howard Finstad (born May 30, 1976) is an American politician, farmer, and agricultural consultant serving as theU.S. representative forMinnesota's 1st congressional district since 2022. Finstad represents a large section of southern Minnesota situated along the border withIowa. A member of theRepublican Party, Finstad served in theMinnesota House of Representatives from 2003 until 2009.
Finstad previously served as an area director for theMinnesota Farm Bureau and as the agricultural policy advisor to U.S. representativeMark Kennedy. In2002, he was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, where he served three terms. In 2017 PresidentDonald Trump appointed Finstad as theUSDA Rural Development director forMinnesota. 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 representMinnesota's 1st congressional district in a2022 special election, to finish the term of the lateJim Hagedorn.
Finstad was born inNew Ulm, Minnesota, on May 30, 1976.[3][4] A fourth-generation resident of the area, he grew up on his family's farm inBrown County, Minnesota, which his family has operated for several generations.[1] He earned aBachelor of Science degree in agricultural education from theUniversity of Minnesota.[5]
After graduating from college, Finstad joined the human resources department of Christensen Family Farms inBrown County, Minnesota. He later briefly worked as an area director for the Minnesota Farm Bureau before joining the staff of CongressmanMark Kennedy, serving as an agricultural advisor.
Finstad was elected to theMinnesota 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 underMinnesota governorTim 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 inSt. Peter, Minnesota. He also worked for an agricultural research and consulting company. In November 2017, PresidentDonald Trump appointed Finstad as Minnesota state director ofUSDA 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.
AfterCongressmanJim Hagedorn died in office, Finstad announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination to serve the rest of Hagedorn's term in the2022 Minnesota's 1st congressional district special election.[9][10][11] In the May 24 special Republicanprimary election, Finstad defeatedstate representativeJeremy 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) nomineeJeff Ettinger, former CEO ofHormel and a first-time candidate.
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]
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]
Finstad was sworn in by House SpeakerNancy Pelosi on August 12, 2022.[16] Later that day he voted against theInflation Reduction Act of 2022.[17]
For the119th Congress:[22]
Finstad was among the 71 House Republicans who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.[23] He voted to provide Israel with support following the2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[24][25]
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 PresidentKamala Harris.[26][27]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's 1st congressional district 2022–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 294th | Succeeded by |