Minnesota's 1st congressional district

Minnesota's 1st congressional district
Minnesota's 1st congressional district
	Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Brad Finstad; R–New Ulm
Area	13,322 sq mi (34,500 km2)
Distribution	62.53% urban; 37.47% rural;
Population (2023)	713,000
Median household; income	$73,883
Ethnicity	82.4% White; 7.2% Hispanic; 3.8% Black; 3.1% Two or more races; 2.8% Asian; 0.6% other;
Cook PVI	R+7

Minnesota's 1st congressional district extends across southern Minnesota from the border with South Dakota to the border with Wisconsin. It is a primarily rural district built on a strong history of agriculture, though this is changing rapidly due to strong population growth in the Rochester combined statistical area. The district is also home to several of Minnesota's major mid-sized cities, including Rochester, Mankato, Winona, Austin, Owatonna, Albert Lea, Red Wing, New Ulm, Worthington, and Lake City. It is represented by Republican Brad Finstad.

From early statehood until after the 2000 census, the district covered only southeastern Minnesota. During the 20th century, it was generally considered solidly Republican, but it became more of a swing district in the late 20th to early 21st century. In 2004, John Kerry received 47% of the vote in the district. In 2006, Republican Representative Gil Gutknecht lost to Democrat Tim Walz. In March 2017, Walz announced that he would not run for reelection to Congress, and instead would run for governor of Minnesota. On paper, the district leans Republican, with a CPVI of R+7, but some recent elections have been among the closest in the nation, won by less than a single percentage point in both 2016 and 2018.^[5] In the 2022 general election, Republican Brad Finstad defeated the Democratic nominee by 11.5 points. His margin of victory was the largest of any candidate in the district since 2012 and the best showing for a Republican since 2004.

Election results from statewide races

Year	Office	Results
2000	President	George W. Bush 49 - Al Gore 45%
2004	President	George W. Bush 51 - John Kerry 47%
2008	President	Barack Obama 51 - John McCain 47%
2012	President	Barack Obama 50 - Mitt Romney 48%
2012	Senate	Amy Klobuchar 62 - Kurt Bills 32%
2014	Governor	Jeff Johnson 48 - Mark Dayton 46%
	Attorney General	Lori Swanson 48 - Scott Newman 43%
	Secretary of State	Dan Severson 50 - Steve Simon 42%
	State Auditor	Rebecca Otto 45 - Randy Gilbert 45%
2016	President	Donald J. Trump 53 - Hillary Clinton 38%
2018	Governor	Tim Walz 50 - Jeff Johnson 47%
	Attorney General	Doug Wardlow 52 - Keith Ellison 42%
	Senate	Amy Klobuchar 54 - Jim Newberger 42%
	Senate (special)	Karin Housley 49 - Tina Smith 46%
	Secretary of State	John Howe 50 - Steve Simon 45%
	State Auditor	Pam Myhra 50 - Julie Blaha 43%
2020	President	Donald J. Trump 54 - Joe Biden 44%
2022	Governor	Scott Jensen 52 - Tim Walz 45%
	Attorney General	Jim Schultz 57 - Keith Ellison 43%
	Secretary of State	Kim Crockett 54 - Steve Simon 46%
	State Auditor	Ryan Wilson 55 - Julie Blaha 40%
2024	President	Donald Trump 55 - Kamala Harris 43%
	Senate	Amy Klobuchar 49 - Royce White 48%

Composition

#	County	Seat	Population
13	Blue Earth	Mankato	70,006
15	Brown	New Ulm	25,628
39	Dodge	Mantorville	21,088
43	Faribault	Blue Earth	13,873
45	Fillmore	Preston	21,522
47	Freeborn	Albert Lea	30,515
49	Goodhue	Red Wing	48,035
55	Houston	Caledonia	18,582
63	Jackson	Jackson	9,919
91	Martin	Fairmont	19,657
99	Mower	Austin	40,058
103	Nicollet	St. Peter	34,242
105	Nobles	Worthington	21,727
109	Olmsted	Rochester	164,784
131	Rice	Faribault	67,948
133	Rock	Luverne	9,551
147	Steele	Owatonna	37,421
157	Wabasha	Wabasha	21,683
161	Waseca	Waseca	19,981
165	Watonwan	St. James	11,077
169	Winona	Winona	49,721

Cities and townships of 10,000 or more people

Rochester – 122,413
Mankato – 45,140
Owatonna – 26,470
Austin – 26,208
Winona – 25,842
Faribault – 24,518
Albert Lea – 18,396
Red Wing – 16,547
North Mankato – 14,251
New Ulm – 14,120
Worthington – 13,743
St. Peter – 12,156
Fairmont – 10,260

2,500 – 10,000 people

Waseca – 9,150
Kasson – 6,851
Stewartville – 6,687
Byron – 6,312
La Crescent – 5,274
Lake City – 5,252
Luverne – 4,946
St. James – 4,793
Cannon Falls – 4,220
Goodview – 4,138
Marion Township – 4,031
St. Charles – 3,990
Pine Island – 3,769
Zumbrota – 3,726
Plainview – 3,483
Sleepy Eye – 3,452
Jackson – 3,323
Eagle Lake – 3,286
Blue Earth – 3,248
Chatfield – 2,997
Caledonia – 2,847
Dodge Center – 2,844
Cascade Township – 2,828
Wabasha – 2,559
Lake Crystal – 2,539

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	District location
District established March 4, 1863
William Windom (Winona)	Republican	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1869	38th 39th 40th	Redistricted from the at-large district and re-elected in 1862. Re-elected in 1864. Re-elected in 1866. Retired.	1863–1873 [data missing]
Morton S. Wilkinson (Mankato)	Republican	March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1871	41st	Elected in 1868. Lost renomination.
Mark H. Dunnell (Owatonna)	Republican	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1883	42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th	Elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. Re-elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Mark H. Dunnell (Owatonna)	Republican	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1883	42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th		1873–1883 Blue Earth, Cottonwood, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Jackson, Martin, Mower, Murray, Nobles, Olmsted, Pipestone, Rock, Steele, Waseca, Watonwan, and Winona
Milo White (Chatfield)	Republican	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1887	48th 49th	Elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. Retired.	1883–1893 Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Steele, Wabasha, and Winona
Thomas Wilson (Winona)	Democratic	March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1889	50th	Elected in 1886. Lost re-election.
Mark H. Dunnell (Owatonna)	Republican	March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891	51st	Elected in 1888. Lost re-election.
William H. Harries (Caledonia)	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893	52nd	Elected in 1890. Lost re-election.
James Albertus Tawney (Winona)	Republican	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1911	53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th	Elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Lost renomination.	1893–1933 Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, and Winona
Sydney Anderson (Lanesboro)	Republican	March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1925	61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th	Elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Retired.
Allen J. Furlow (Rochester)	Republican	March 4, 1925 – March 3, 1929	69th 70th	Elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Lost renomination.
Victor Christgau (Austin)	Republican	March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1933	71st 72nd	Elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Redistricted to the at-large district and lost re-election as an independent.
District inactive		March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935	73rd	All members elected at-large.
August H. Andresen (Red Wing)	Republican	January 3, 1935 – January 14, 1958	74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th	Elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Died.	1935–1963 Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, and Winona
Vacant		January 14, 1958 – February 18, 1958	85th
Al Quie (Dennison)	Republican	February 18, 1958 – January 3, 1979	85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th	Elected to finish Andresen's term. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Retired to run for Governor of Minnesota.
					1963–1973 Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, and Winona
					1973–1983 Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, Washington, and Winona; parts of Dakota
Arlen Erdahl (West St. Paul)	Republican	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1983	96th 97th	Elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Lost renomination.
Tim Penny (New Richland)	Democratic (DFL)	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1995	98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd	Elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Retired.	1983–1993 Blue Earth, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, and Winona; parts of Dakota, Goodhue, Le Sueur, and Scott
Tim Penny (New Richland)	Democratic (DFL)	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1995	98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd		1993–1995 Blue Earth, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Le Sueur, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, and Winona; parts of Dakota and Scott
Gil Gutknecht (Rochester)	Republican	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2007	104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th	Elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Lost re-election.	1995–2003 Blue Earth, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, and Winona; parts of Dakota, Le Sueur, Nicollet, and Scott
Gil Gutknecht (Rochester)	Republican	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2007	104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th		2003–2013 Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Jackson, Martin, Mower, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Olmsted, Pipestone, Rock, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, Watonwan, and Winona; parts of Le Sueur
Tim Walz (Mankato)	Democratic (DFL)	January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2019	110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th	Elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Retired to run for Governor of Minnesota.
Tim Walz (Mankato)	Democratic (DFL)	January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2019	110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th		2013–2023 Blue Earth, Brown, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Jackson, Le Sueur, Martin, Mower, Nicollet, Nobles, Olmsted, Rock, Steele, Waseca, Watonwan, and Winona; parts of Cottonwood and Rice
Jim Hagedorn (Blue Earth)	Republican	January 3, 2019 – February 17, 2022	116th 117th	Elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Died.
Vacant		February 17, 2022 – August 12, 2022	117th
Brad Finstad (New Ulm)	Republican	August 12, 2022 – present	117th 118th 119th	Elected to finish Hagedorn's term. Re-elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.
Brad Finstad (New Ulm)	Republican	August 12, 2022 – present	117th 118th 119th		2023–present Blue Earth, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Jackson, Martin, Mower, Nicollet, Nobles, Olmsted, Rock, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, Watonwan, and Winona; parts of Brown and Rice

Recent election results

Graph of election results in Minnesota's 1st congressional district

2002 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, district 1
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican	Gil Gutknecht (incumbent)	163,532	61	–
Democratic (DFL)	Steve Andreasen	92,149	35	–
Green	Gregory Mikkelson	9,954	4	–

2004 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, district 1
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican	Gil Gutknecht (incumbent)	193,132	60	−1
Democratic (DFL)	Leigh Pomeroy	115,088	35	–
Independence	Gregory Mikkelson	15,569	5	–

2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, district 1
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic (DFL)	Tim Walz	141,622	53	–
	Republican	Gil Gutknecht (incumbent)	126,487	47	−13

2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, district 1
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic (DFL)	Tim Walz (incumbent)	207,748	62.5	+9.5
Republican	Brian J. Davis	109,446	32.9	–
Independence	Gregory Mikkelson	14,903	4.5	–

2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, district 1
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic (DFL)	Tim Walz (incumbent)	122,390	49.4	−13.1
Republican	Randy Demmer	109,261	44.1	+11.2
Independence	Steven Wilson	13,243	5.3	+0.8

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, district 1
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic (DFL)	Tim Walz (incumbent)	193,211	57.5	+8.1
	Republican	Allen Quist	142,164	42.3	−1.8

2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, district 1
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic (DFL)	Tim Walz (incumbent)	122,851	54.2	−3.3
	Republican	Jim Hagedorn	103,536	45.7	+3.4

2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, district 1
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic (DFL)	Tim Walz (incumbent)	169,076	50.4	−3.8
	Republican	Jim Hagedorn	166,527	49.6	+3.9

2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, district 1
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jim Hagedorn	146,202	50.1	+0.5
	Democratic (DFL)	Dan Feehan	144,891	49.7	−0.7

2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, district 1^[6]
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican	Jim Hagedorn (incumbent)	179,234	48.6	−1.5
Democratic (DFL)	Dan Feehan	167,890	45.5	−4.2
Grassroots—LC	Bill Rood	21,448	5.8	N/A
Write-in		284	0.1	N/A

2022 Minnesota's 1st congressional district special election
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican	Brad Finstad	59,788	50.7	+2.1
Democratic (DFL)	Jeff Ettinger	55,155	46.8	+1.3
Legal Marijuana Now	Richard Reisdorf	1,536	1.3	N/A
Grassroots—LC	Haroun McClellan	865	0.7	−5.1
Write-in		535	0.5	+0.4

2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, district 1
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican	Brad Finstad (incumbent)	159,621	53.8	+3.1
Democratic (DFL)	Jeff Ettinger	125,457	42.3	−4.5
Legal Marijuana Now	Richard Reisdorf	6,389	2.1	+0.8
Grassroots—LC	Brian Abrahamson	4,943	1.7	+1.0
Write-in		137	0.1	N/A