2024 US House District 1 (Final)

US House of Representatives: District 1

2024 Candidate Comparison

U.S. House of Representatives

The U.S. Congress has two chambers, the Senate and the House. In order for ideas to become law, they require passage in both chambers. Members of the House of Representatives serve two year terms. Unlike the Senate, where each state has the same number of senators (2 per state), the number of Representatives for each state is based on population. States with larger populations have more Representatives. Minnesota currently has 8 Representatives. Representatives represent a specific geographic district within the state and only people who reside within that geographic district are able to vote in that district’s election.

In addition to proposing, debating, and voting on pieces of legislation that may become new laws, the House has the responsibility of originating bills related to revenue (taxing and spending). The House has the right to bring articles of impeachment against members of the executive or judicial branches by a majority vote. Someone running for this office may be said to be “running for Congress,” “running for US Representative” or “running for the House of Representatives.”

Candidates	Rachel Bohman (D) https://www.bohmanforcongress.com/	Bradley Finstad (R) (Incumbent) https://finstadforcongress.com/
Background	Grew up and now lives in Rochester, Minnesota Daughter of a single mother Family struggled with poverty and addiction Worked her way through college and law school Married with two daughters Served as Head of Elections for Hennepin County Elected to the Rochester Township Board Served as an Assistant County Attorney	Fourth-generation Minnesotan Married with seven children Helps operate the Finstad family farm Served in the MN state legislature Served as the Minnesota Director for USDA Rural Development in the Trump Administration
Reproductive Health	Protecting access to reproductive health is a top priority does not support Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade	supports Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade
Economy	support’s expanding federal funding to support Social Security and Medicare supports wealth tax to pay for public programs supports increased federal funding for affordable housing supports federal spending to promote economic growth (e.g. tax incentives) supports federal student loan forgiveness within certain criteria	does not support increased federal funding for Social Security and Medicare wants fewer taxes and less wasteful government spending Voted against the Inflation Reduction Act does not support student loan forgiveness
Healthcare	supports government-run (e.g. single-payer) healthcare program, such as Medicare-for-All supports expanding paid family and medical leave benefits (e.g. maternity leave) supports prescription drug cost regulations
Elections	supports campaign finance reform to keep corporations from having more of a voice in elections than voters does not support voter ID laws	supports voter ID laws believes elections are not always secure
National Security	Confront terrorism at home and abroad Prevent cyber attacks to our nation’s infrastructure does not support increasing defense spending supports economic intervention to resolve international conflicts in favor of increasing aid to Ukraine	supports increased defense spending voted against using taxpayer money to help Ukraine in its war against Russia
Immigration	Immigrants strengthen communities in Southern Minnesota The current immigration system isn’t working. Need common sense, bi-partisan work to provide smart management at our country’s borders while allowing people who want to live the American dream supports increasing border security but not requiring immigrants to return to their home country before becoming eligible for citizenship	in favor of increasing border patrol to stop drugs from entering the country voted to support the 2023 Secure Border Act condemns the MN North Star Act to prohibit state resources from being used for immigration enforcement supports requiring immigrants to return to their home country before becoming eligible for citizenship
Environment/ Climate	Invest in green technology to keep air and water clean Work with world leaders to fight the climate crisis Remove lead from water Cut carbon pollution Bring clean energy manufacturing jobs supports federal funding for renewable energy against drilling on public land	Against climate change believes priority should be keeping energy production in the US instead of abroad
Gun Safety	supports gun-control legislation (e.g. red flag laws, closing boyfriend loopholes)	does not support gun-control legislation
Active and veterans of the Armed Forces	Support the active and retired members of the armed forces	Committed to slashing red tape and removing regulations for veterans

Note: This information has been compiled from campaign websites by volunteers from Indivisible St. Peter/Greater Mankato. These comparisons are not officially endorsed by any candidate. Where there is no information for a particular category, this does not mean that the candidate does not care about or has not spoken about the issue - it just may not appear on their website. Voters are encouraged to visit candidates’ websites and reach out to campaigns for more information.