U.S. Representative Jim Hagedorn’s widow, Jennifer Carnahan, has announced her run for her husband’s former seat. Hagedorn passed away in February.
In a an announcement release provided to The Minnesota Sun, Jennifer Carnahan said that her husband told her to run for the seat and to win.
“I am proud to announce my candidacy to represent Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District. Though my heart is still heavy after Jim’s passing, the encouragement I have received from throughout southern Minnesota has inspired me to carry on his legacy by running to complete the remainder of his term,” said Jennifer Carnahan.
She continued, saying, “In the final weeks before his passing, Jim told me to keep forging ahead, to keep reaching my dreams, and to win this seat. Jim was my best friend and the love of my life, and it is his blessing that strengthens me for the challenges ahead. I am committed to continuing my husband’s legacy of fighting to secure the border, defending conservative values, safeguarding the integrity of our elections, and serving the people of Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District.
Jennifer Carnahan, who compared her political goals to those of President Trump, says she is running to disrupt the status quo and get D.C. working for the people of America.
“While D.C. insiders are lining their pockets; hard working Minnesotans are languishing beneath record inflation, a lawless border and higher input costs for agriculture, impacting all of America. I am running to disrupt the status quo and get Washington working for the people again,” she said. “Like President Trump, I am a businesswoman and fighter. Here in Minnesota, I disrupted the status quo and brought the Republican Party back to relevance. Now, I ask for the support of southern Minnesota to do the same in Washington.”
Jennifer Carnahan was most recently the chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota from 2017-2021. Her campaign release says that she took the party out of $1 million in debt, and flipped three house seats from blue to red. Minnesota become a Republican-targeted state during the 2020 presidential election in large part due to her efforts. Carnahan was appointed by President Trump to serve on the White House Initiative for Asian American and Pacific Islanders.
FEC records show that there are other Republican candidates are in the race, but all filed paperwork after the December 31, 2021 deadline so their fundraising numbers are unknown. It is unknown if any of the candidates will drop out due to Carnahan’s entry.
Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District is a deep red district, with Nate Silver’s fivethirtyeight giving it a partisan rating of R+14. The Cook Political Report gives the race a Likely Republican rating.
In the larger picture in terms of how this race affects control of the U.S. House of Representatives, this is expected to be a Republican hold.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Minnesota Sun and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
Photo “Jennifer Carnahan” by MNEditor21. CC BY-SA 4.0. Background Photo “U.S. Capitol” by GPA Photo Archive.
