Bradley Howard Finstad (born May 30, 1976) is an American politician, farmer, and agricultural consultant serving as the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 1st congressional district since 2022. Finstad represents a large section of southern Minnesota situated along the border with Iowa. A member of the Republican Party, Finstad served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 until 2009.
Brad Finstad | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 1st district | |
| Assumed office August 12, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Hagedorn |
| Member of the Minnesota 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 May 30, 1976 New Ulm, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Jaclyn |
| Children | 7 |
| Education | University of Minnesota (BS) |
| Website | House website |
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
editFinstad 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
editAfter 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
editElections
edit2022 special
editAfter 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
editWinning 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]
Tenure
editFinstad was sworn in by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on August 12, 2022.[15] Later that day he voted against the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.[16]
Caucus memberships
editCommittee assignments
editFor the 118th Congress:[18]
Political positions
editFederal debt ceiling
editFinstad was among the 71 House Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.[19] He voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[20][21]
Vote to defund vice president
editOn 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.[22][23]
Personal life
editFinstad is Roman Catholic.[24] He and his family own Frontier Testing MN, a company that tests soil for farmers. The company had 11 employees[25] in December 2019, but by April 2020, the company had grown to 33 employees,[26] for which it needed more than $150,000 of now-forgiven PPP loans. By February 2021, his company employed 43 employees[27] and needed $170,000 to pay them. Those loans were also forgiven. The company has since returned to 11 employees.
References
edit- ^ a b "Trump Administration Appoints Brad Finstad to Serve as State Director for USDA Rural Development in Minnesota". Rural Development. November 29, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
- ^ "Farmer and ex-legislator Finstad declared winner of Hagedorn seat". Roll Call. August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
- ^ "Finstad, Brad - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- ^ "Brad Finstad".
- ^ "Brad Finstad". www.acg.org. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- ^ "GOVERNOR PAWLENTY APPOINTS NINE TO THE RURAL HEALT". www.leg.mn.gov. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- ^ "Trump Administration Appoints Brad Finstad to Serve as State Director for USDA Rural Development in Minnesota". Rural Development. November 29, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- ^ "Brad Finstad; MTGA; Minnesota Turkey; MTRPC". www.minnesotaturkey.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- ^ Hanley, Ashley (March 7, 2022). "Farmer, Former State Representative & Trump USDA Appointee Brad Finstad to Run for Congress". KTOE. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- ^ "Republicans Jeremy Munson, Brad Finstad join the scrum for 1st District special election". Rochester Post Bulletin. March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- ^ Former Hormel Foods CEO joins Minnesota congressional race, Associated Press (March 10, 2022).
- ^ a b Matthew Stolle, Finstad wins GOP congressional special election primary; Ettinger wins DFL primary, Post Bulletin (May 25, 2022).
- ^ Minnesota First Congressional District Special Primary Election Results, The New York Times (2022).
- ^ "Minnesota Election Results". Bloomberg. November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- ^ Tribune, Jessie Van Berkel Star. "Minnesota's newly elected GOP U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad sworn in". Star Tribune. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ "Finstad sworn in on another contentious day in Congress". MinnPost. August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ "Candidates". RMSP PAC. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- ^ "Brad Finstad". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
- ^ "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". June 2023.
- ^ Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (October 25, 2023). "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 October 30, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Anthony Adragna, "The House did not pass a push to defund Kamala Harris' office — but 106 Republicans voted yes.", Politico, 11/8/2023.
- ^ Clerk of US House of Representatives, Legislative Information, HR 4664, Collins of Georgia Part B Amendment No. 44 , 1:21PM, Roll Call 633.
- ^ Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress (PDF) (Report). Pew Research Center. January 3, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ "Frontier Labs MN - Merry Christmas from all of us at Frontier Labs MN! | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ^ "FRONTIER LABS MN LLC — Tracking PPP". ProPublica. June 1, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ "FRONTIER LABS MN LLC — Tracking PPP". ProPublica. June 1, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2024.