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Aug. 9 is election day to fill Hagedorn seat

By
Lori Sorenson

Rock County voters will join Minnesota’s First Congressional District on Aug. 9 to elect a replacement for the late Congressman Jim Hagedorn.
Mail ballots were sent last week to roughly 200 Rock County voters in rural precincts that have no polling stations, and early voting and absentee ballots are available by request.
Republican Brad Finstad, New Ulm, is facing DFL candidate Jeff Ettinger, Austin, in the special election to replace Hagedorn, who died in February of kidney cancer.
Finstad, a former USDA official for the Trump administration, and Ettinger, a former Hormel CEO, emerged from the crowded Republican and Democratic primary races May 24.
Voters in southern Minnesota chose from eight DFL candidates and 10 GOP candidates to determine who would advance to the Aug. 9 special election for the seat.
Ettinger garnered more than 64 percent of the DFL vote while Finstad won by only 388 votes over state Rep. Jeremy Munson on the GOP side.
The winner of the Ettinger-Finstad election will serve the remainder of Hagedorn’s term, which ends in January.
On the same day as the Aug. 9 special election, a primary will decide party nominees for the normal November general election.
The ballot has two sides for voters to fill out.
The winner of the fall contest, which will be held under the new court-drawn lines with redistricting, will be elected to a full two-year term to the seat.
Local voting questions can be directed to the Rock County Auditor Treasurer at 507-283-5060.
Information about the candidates and the process can be found at the Secretary of State’s website, sos.state.mn.us.

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