Finstad, Ettinger head to special election for Hagedorn seat

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Republican former U.S Department of Agriculture official Brad Finstad will face Democratic former Hormel Foods chief executive Jeff Ettinger in an August special election to finish the term of the late GOP U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn.

State Rep. Jeremy Munson conceded defeat Wednesday morning in the GOP special primary with Finstad ahead by a few hundred votes.

The winners are expecting a bump in their chances to win a full term in November. The Aug. 9 special general election coincides with Minnesota’s statewide primary the same day.

The winner of the special general election will fill out the rest of Hagedorn’s term into January.