Former MNGOP chair Jennifer Carnahan, widow of U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, running for late husband’s seat

Jennifer Carnahan, the former Minnesota GOP chairwoman and widow of U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, is running for her late husband’s seat in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, hoping to move past her controversial and polarizing record as party leader.  

Carnahan joins a crowded field of candidates running in a special election called after Hagedorn died of kidney cancer Feb. 18. 

“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,” Carnahan said in a statement. “In the final weeks before his passing, Jim told me to keep forging ahead, to keep reaching my dreams, and to win this seat.”

Carnahan is casting herself as a “trusted conservative” and aligned herself strongly with former President Donald Trump, whom she tried to help reelect in Minnesota. The Trump campaign spent heavily to win here in 2020 but lost by more than 200,000 votes, or 7 percentage points. 

“Like President Trump, I am a businesswoman and fighter,” Carnahan said. “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.”

Carnahan’s run comes just months after she resigned from her position as leader of the Minnesota Republican Party after facing accusations she fostered a toxic work environment within the organization. She resigned just days after four former executive directors at the party outlined their experiences working with her in an extraordinary rebuke, saying the party was “morally bankrupt” because of her leadership.

Carnahan denied all the accusations, casting them as smears by political opponents.  

Her downfall at the party began after the indictment of friend and major political donor Tony Lazzaro, with whom she also co-hosted a podcast. Lazzaro is set to stand trial on charges of sex trafficking, obstruction, attempted sex trafficking of a minor, and conspiracy to sex traffick minors. Lazzaro has pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

Other GOP candidates running for the seat include former U.S. Department of Agriculture official Brad Finstad, state Reps. Jeremy Munson and Nels Pierson and Albert Lea attorney Matt Benda. Democratic candidates include ethics lawyer Richard Painter, who worked under former President George W. Bush, and former Hormel Foods CEO Jeff Ettinger.

A campaign spokesman said Carnahan, who has previously lived in St. Louis Park, lives in Blue Earth.