Rep. Brad Finstad (R-Minn.) was sworn into the House on Friday to finish the term of the late Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.), who died of kidney cancer in February.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) facilitated the oath of office on the House floor for Finstad, who was surrounded by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and members of the Minnesota congressional delegation.
His swearing in came three days after the Minnesota Republican won a special election to replace Hagedorn. Finstad bested his closest opponent, Jeff Ettinger, by 4 percentage points.
In remarks on the House floor Friday, the new congressman said it was an “extraordinary honor” to be elected to Congress. He spoke about his background of being a farmer.
“When we wake up in the morning, we know something will be broke. So we wake up trying to figure out how am I gonna fix things? So really, to me, serving in Congress is all about that: rolling up my sleeves, taking that farmer mentality, figuring out what’s broke and how we’re gonna fix it and move on. And that’s the farmer in me, that’s the Southern Minnesotan in me,” he added.
Finstad’s swearing in comes nearly six months after Hagedorn, 59, died of kidney cancer. The Minnesota Republican was first elected to Congress in 2018. He announced in April 2019 that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer.
Finstad served in the Trump administration, working as the state director for the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development in Minnesota. He previously served in the Minnesota House of Representatives and spent time as the executive director of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, the executive director of the Center for Rural Policy and Development, and area director at the Minnesota Farm Bureau.
Finstad called his predecessor “a true fighter for Southern Minnesota” and “a great example of hard work and what we strive to be in Minnesota.”