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Politics and Government News
Mark Zdechlik
St. Paul

Finstad takes 1st District seat in Congress

Brad Finstad poses during a ceremonial swearing
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, poses during a ceremonial swearing-in for Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minn., right, joined by his wife Jaclyn and their family Friday on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Patrick Semansky | AP

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Southern Minnesotans officially have representation once again in Washington following the February death of Republican Rep. Jim Hagedorn. 

Republican Brad Finstad took the oath of office Friday morning and introduced himself to congress emphasizing his background in agriculture.

Finstad defeated Democrat Jeff Ettinger in this week's special election to fill the remainder of Hagedorn's term.

"People in my district sent a farmer to Congress," Finstad said on the House floor, adding that he's ready to get to work.

"On the farm, when we wake up in the morning, we know something will be broke, Finstad said, “And so we wake up trying to figure out, how am I going to fix things? And so really, to me, serving in Congress is all about that — rolling up my sleeves, taking that farmer mentality, figuring out what's broken, how we're going to fix it and move on."

Finstad faces Ettinger again in November's general election that will decide who will serve the next two-year term representing the 1st District.