Minnesota's First District Headed for Recount After Tight Election

The race for Minnesota's First Congressional District is heading to a recount after unofficial results showed an extremely narrow margin on Tuesday.

Democrat Jake Johnson currently leads Republican Brad Finstad by 323 votes. The Minnesota Secretary of State’s office reported these figures early Wednesday morning. The Associated Press has not yet officially called the race. If Johnson holds the lead, he would join the new Democratic majority in the U.S. House following Tuesday's election.

Johnson is 43 years old and a former high school math teacher. He ran his first campaign for public office on a platform of lowering costs and investing in rural small towns. He declared victory early Wednesday morning and spent Wednesday night celebrating with hundreds of supporters at an event center in Rochester. "This is not my victory. This is by us. This is for us," Johnson told the crowd. He said voters charged him with bringing down the cost of living and tackling corruption.

Finstad, 50, is a fourth-generation farmer and former state representative. He has held the seat since winning a special election in 2022 to replace Jim Hagedorn, who died in office. Finstad has not conceded. He told reporters at his event in Sleepy Eye on election night that he was optimistic about the outcome. "I think people are just sick of dysfunction in general in politics," Finstad said. He noted the national attention and the millions of dollars spent on negative campaign ads during the race.

The district runs along the Mississippi River from Red Wing to the Iowa border and extends west to the South Dakota border. It was previously considered a safe Republican seat. Finstad won it by 17 points in 2024. However, recent polls showed Johnson gaining ground as he capitalized on President Trump’s growing unpopularity. Johnson attacked Finstad for supporting data centers, cutting Medicaid and SNAP funding, and backing the war with Iran, which contributed to soaring gas and diesel prices.

Unofficial results show Johnson earned 49.99 percent of the vote. Finstad received 49.89 percent. The difference is just one tenth of a percentage point. Under state statute, this close margin qualifies for a publicly funded recount if Finstad requests one. Neither Finstad nor his campaign has indicated yet if they will seek a recount.

University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs said a recount is likely to result in the current outcome standing. "Generally, in Minnesota, if it's in the hundreds, the race stands," Jacobs said. He noted that if the lead were only a few dozen votes, there would be a chance the race would be reversed. He added that he assumes Finstad's effort to reverse the results will not succeed.

Election officials will physically examine and hand-count every ballot during a recount. Representatives from each campaign will watch the process. Poll workers will sort the ballots into piles for each candidate. The process can take a month to complete. Jacobs said the public nature of the recount is important for maintaining transparency and faith in the election process. "The hope is the result, then, is considered to be legitimate," Jacobs said.