The Case Against Brad Finstad

“Southern Minnesota needs a champion, and that’s Jake Johnson: a public school math teacher, dad, and husband whose family lived the same struggles of too many Minnesota families. Brad Finstad sold out Minnesota families, voting with the special interests instead of fighting for his district. Jake will never forget where he came from and who he works for – he’ll fight to tackle corruption and fraud, lower the cost of living, and always show up and listen to Minnesotans,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.

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To: Interested Parties
From: Katie Smith, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: August 11, 2026
Subject: The Case Against Brad Finstad 

Southern Minnesota has been hit uniquely hard by politicians like Brad Finstad who put the party agenda ahead of doing what’s right for their constituents. The First District is home to the Mayo Clinic and tens of thousands of farmers – yet Finstad backed the agenda squeezing Minnesota farmers, cutting health care and rural health funding in a district whose largest employer is the Mayo Clinic and where nearly one quarter of workers are employed in health care and social services, and backed billions for an unpopular war overseas while sticking Minnesotans with the bill.

Finstad gave in to the worst of Washington, because he’s a multimillionaire politician bought and sold by special interests who can’t be bothered to do his job of showing up. In every way, he’s out of touch and doesn’t get it.

In this district that voted three times for Senator Amy Klobuchar, Jake Johnson is the kind of candidate poised to take advantage of Minnesotans’ anger at politicians like Finstad and win the disaffected voters who feel left behind. The son of a garbage collector and a meter reader, Jake Johnson and his ten siblings grew up in a working class family that worked hard to achieve the American dream while relying on Medicaid and SNAP. Now as a public school math teacher, Jake is running for Congress because families like his are struggling. Jake will put Minnesotans first, not the special interests – and work to bring down the cost of living, tackle corruption, go after wasteful spending and fraud, and invest in Minnesota’s small towns. 

Brad Finstad Takes Money From the Special Interests, Then Votes Their Way

Finstad votes against Minnesota because he’s taking cash from the special interests. He’s a politician who puts his career first and Minnesota last. 

He’s taken tens of thousands of dollars from the health care and pharma industries while voting their way: opposing drug price negotiation and backing the bill which would cause premiums to spike for 20 million Americans and undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions while kicking 100,000 Americans off their health care.

Finstad took thousands from Big Ag companies accused of increasing Minnesota farmers’ costs – including a Chinese company. He’s taken $1.5 million from billionaires and special interests – so it’s no surprise he backed the bill to cut their taxes while sticking Minnesota families with the bill. He allowed credit card companies and big banks to jack up fees, helping them pad their profits at the expense of struggling families.

Jake isn’t beholden to anyone besides Minnesotans. He’s fueled by grassroots support, and in Congress he’ll work to stop politicians from getting rich at Minnesotans’ expense, get dark money out of politics, and jail corrupt politicians and fraudsters. 

Brad Finstad sold Minnesotans out to the highest bidder – and he doesn’t care who he hurts, because he’s an out-of-touch politician who doesn’t respect his constituents. 

Brad Finstad Backs Every D.C. Policy Hurting Southern Minnesota

Southern Minnesota is struggling, and Brad Finstad is making it worse. He is a “yes-man” to all the worst ideas out of Washington, even when they hurt Minnesotans. That started on his very first day in Congress, when Finstad voted against lowering the cost of prescription drugs: he opposed capping insulin costs at $35 a month for Medicare recipients and allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug costs.

Since then, Finstad has kept siding against Minnesotans. Last year, fourteen Republican legislators – seven who represented parts of MN-01 – wrote to Finstad and warned him against cutting Medicaid. The Republicans said that cuts would put a “major strain” on health care infrastructure while impacting services for seniors and children. Despite their warning, Finstad voted for the largest cuts to Medicaid in history. He praised the bill as a “win” – even though the cuts are projected to slash rural healthcare funding by nearly $87 billion, nearly 15,000 people in MN-01 are expected to lose health care, and premiums are already skyrocketing.

Rural Minnesota is paying for Finstad’s actions: clinics in Caledonia, St. Peter, Wells, and Mankato have closed, Faribault lost a birthing center, Austin and Fairmont’s hospital systems are at risk of closure, and rural health care access is harder to come by and a much farther drive away. Finstad is making life harder for Minnesota’s small towns by siding with D.C.

Finstad backs the reckless tariffs and the Iran War wrecking havoc on farmers in the state. Finstad’s support for the Iran War has forced families to pay higher prices at the pump while he votes to allow billions to be spent on an overseas war. He voted at least eight times to defend Trump’s tariffs and trade war. He admitted the tariffs would cause farmers pain, but continued to back them anyways. Now, farmers are paying the price: soybean prices dropping, markets closing, input costs increasing, and fertilizer prices skyrocketing due to the war. That’s on top of the impact tariffs are having on the costs of everyday goods – from groceries, to school supplies, and more, families are shouldering the burden of higher costs. Instead of doing anything to get costs down for families, Finstad made life more expensive. He repeatedly voted to increase the cost of energy, health care, housing, and more.

Jake will immediately take a stand against every cost-hiking policy Finstad has supported. Jake knows both parties have been fiscally irresponsible, and our kids and grandkids will pay the price. That’s why he wants to end the fraud, and balance the federal budget to save taxpayer money and reduce costs for families stuck with the bill thanks to Washington’s bad actors. He’ll work to take on corruption, undo the Medicaid cuts and end the tariffs, vote to stop the Iran War, and prioritize tax relief for working families.

Finstad is a Multimillionaire, Absent, Out-of-Touch Politician Who Won’t Listen to His Constituents Because He Doesn’t Respect Them 

Brad Finstad doesn’t care what Minnesotans are going through because he’s an out-of-touch multimillionaire. Worth as much as $11 million, Finstad’s life couldn’t be more different than the average Minnesotan. The median household income in MN-01 is $78,500: and Finstad is worth up to 141 times that, so it’s no wonder he makes such out-of-touch choices as a career politician who spent more than two decades in elected office or working in politics.

That’s why Finstad can’t be bothered to show up for Minnesotans. He has never held an in-person town hall and repeatedly defended his failure to not show up, saying constituents who wanted him to hold a town hall were just throwing a “hissy fit.” He’s an absent member of Congress who prefers to spend time in Washington instead of with the people he is supposed to represent. He was “notably absent” from his hometown New Ulm Bavarian Blast parade and was called out for ghosting interview requests about the “economic challenges facing farmers as the spring planting season gets underway, with the ongoing war in Iran impacting the costs.”

Jake couldn’t be more different. Raised in a family depending on SNAP and Medicaid, he and his ten siblings worked hard to achieve the American Dream. Now, Jake is raising his own family here, too, and they feel the rising cost of groceries, utilities, and health care just like so many other families. That’s how he knows Minnesotans deserve a congressman who shows up – which is exactly what Jake has done through his years as a high school math teacher helping shape the next generation, and throughout this campaign where he shows up everywhere and listens. From his 21 county town hall tour, to the countless parades, roundtables, meet and greets, and conversations on the doors, Jake shows up because that’s what Minnesotans deserve from their congressman.

No matter if you’re a Republican, Independent, or Democrat, Jake works for everyone. He isn’t a multimillionaire – he’s from a regular family like most Minnesotans – and he cares about what you have to say. While Finstad left this district behind, Jake is fighting for small towns and to protect the American Dream for the next generation. 

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING 

Post Bulletin: Jake Johnson, seeking to unseat Rep. Brad Finstad, releases taxpayer protection pledge [Post Bulletin, 7/15/26]

Washington Examiner: Meet the Democrat adopting the GOP’s spending playbook [Washington Examiner, 7/7/26]

The Guardian: High school math teacher seeks to win US House seat in Minnesota by emphasizing affordability [The Guardian, 7/20/26]

Post Bulletin: Can Jake Johnson pull off an upset in Minnesota’s 1st? – Post Bulletin [Post Bulletin, 5/30/26]

Minnesota Star Tribune: Former GOP Gov. Arne Carlson backs Democrat in southern Minnesota’s U.S. House race [Minnesota Star Tribune, 7/16/26]