Candidate · November 3, 2026

Brad Finstad

On the ballot for U.S. House · Minnesota's 1st District

RepublicanIncumbent
raised through Oct 14, 2026
$2.8M
cash on hand
$604K
issues with public statements
6
outside spending for or against
$3.4M

§1On the ballot

Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.

OfficeU.S. House · Minnesota's 1st District1
Party on the ballotRepublican1,2,3
StatusIncumbent — Currently represents Minnesota's 1st District in the U.S. House.4
Also on the ballot

§2Who they are

Why this matters: Background and experience help you judge how someone might do the job. These come from public records and the candidate's own materials.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

His campaign website says he is a fourth-generation Brown County farmer who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture education, with an emphasis in rural leadership development, from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities.5 It says he worked as an area director for the Minnesota Farm Bureau and as an agricultural policy advisor to U.S. Representative Mark Kennedy, served three terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009, and later led the Center for Rural Policy and Development and the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association.5 It says he was appointed State Director for USDA Rural Development in Minnesota in 2017, won the special election for Minnesota’s 1st District on August 9, 2022, and serves on the House Committees on Agriculture, Small Business and Armed Services.5

Why they say they're running

His campaign website says he is seeking re-election because Washington needs Midwestern common sense and the people of southern Minnesota deserve a hardworking representative for their priorities, with the aims of safer neighborhoods, more secure jobs, better schools, more effective government programs and lighter tax burdens.6

Service in Congress since 2023

  • 2025–nowU.S. Representative, MN-14
  • 2023–2025U.S. Representative, MN-14

Websites and accounts

§3What they've said on the issues

Why this matters: These are positions the candidate has stated publicly — on their campaign website or in public statements — summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Issues they haven't spoken about publicly are left out.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Each issue has its own range of views. A position is marked on that range only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option; there is no overall left–right score.

Agriculture and Rural Life

Farm payments and crop insurance

His campaign website says he championed the FARMER Act, which it says widens access to crop insurance and lowers costs for local producers, and that federal farm policy should be written by farmers, for farmers, without creating burdensome obstacles.9

  1. Expand price supports, crop insurance or emergency aid
  2. Keep the programs at current levels
  3. Cut payments, such as with tighter limits for the largest farms
  4. Phase out price-support payments and rely on crop insurance
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Animal welfare laws

His campaign website lists California’s Proposition 12 among policies it describes as threatening the livelihoods of family farms and agricultural producers.9

Taxes and Budget

Business tax breaks

His campaign website says he voted for the Working Families Tax Cuts to keep certain tax provisions in place, in particular the 199A small business deduction.9

Immigration

Border wall and barriers

His campaign website says he wants to restart work on the southern border wall and ease staffing shortages at Customs and Border Patrol, and lists among his accomplishments securing border security funding in H.R. 1 to complete the border wall.9

  1. Build walls or fencing along much more of the border
  2. Add barriers only in selected places, relying mainly on technology and agents
  3. Build no new barriers and spend the money on other border security
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Immigration enforcement inside the country

His campaign website lists among his accomplishments securing increased immigration enforcement resources in H.R. 1, and says he co-sponsored the Deporting Fraudsters Act and backs a bill that would require ICE to hold people here illegally who are charged with crimes that caused a death or serious injury.9

Elections and Government Reform

Proof of citizenship to register to vote

His campaign website says he co-sponsored the SAVE Act, which it says would require people to prove their U.S. citizenship and identity when registering to vote in federal elections.9

  1. Require documents proving citizenship to register
  2. Check citizenship against government records instead of requiring documents
  3. Keep relying on applicants' sworn statement, under penalty of perjury, that they are citizens
Marked: the option their statement matches.

§4Popular bills that never got a vote

Why this matters: Many bills with wide support from both parties never reach a vote, so no member of Congress is ever on record for or against them. Signing on as a sponsor or cosponsor is the only public record of support.

While Brad Finstad served, these bills had broad support from both parties but never reached a floor vote. No officeholder ever had to vote on them. Brad Finstad sponsored or cosponsored 31 of the 52. How bills die without a vote.

See all 52

§5Money

Why this matters: Campaigns report where their money comes from and how much they have left. Outside groups that spend on their own, without coordinating with the campaign, report that too.

Reported to the Federal Election Commission for the 2025–2026 election cycle, through October 14, 2026.62

Raised$2,765,870
Spent$2,223,657
Cash on hand$603,622

Where the money came from

Individual donors$1.0M · 37%
PACs and other political committees$1.4M · 49%
Transfers from the candidate's other committees$375K · 14%
Other receipts (other loans, refunds, interest)$0 · 0%

Outside spending

Groups spending independently reported $275,851 supporting and $3,116,321 opposing Brad Finstad this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through October 26, 2026.63

Largest independent spenders, as named in their FEC filings.
GroupSupportingOpposing
YOUR COMMUNITY PAC—$2,556,242
LCV Victory Fund—$250,060
American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees PEOPLE—$241,250
SAVE AMERICAN FREEDOM$127,681—
Conservatives for America$100,000—
TAKEACTION MN FEDERAL FUND—$51,798
American Liberty Foundation PAC$32,156—
MAIN STREET ACTION PAC—$16,775

Smaller expenditures that appear only on a group's regular monthly or quarterly report aren't in these totals, so the full amounts can be somewhat higher. When a group amends a report, only its latest version is counted.

§6Financial disclosures

Why this matters: Federal candidates and members of Congress must report their assets, income, debts and outside jobs, and members must report stock trades. These filings show possible conflicts of interest.