Jake Johnson leads Brad Finstad in Minnesota congressional race

Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) challenger Jake Johnson is leading Republican incumbent Brad Finstad in Minnesota’s First Congressional District by a margin of approximately 323 to 324 votes. With 100% of the vote reporting across all 750 precincts, Johnson holds roughly 49.99% of the vote compared to Finstad’s 49.89%.

Because the margin is less than 0.25%, Minnesota state law allows for a publicly funded recount. While Johnson has declared victory, the race has not been officially called. The results show Johnson winning the Rochester area with a 62.15% to 37.73% margin, which helped narrow the gap in the populous Olmsted County.

Johnson, a math teacher from Rochester, ran a campaign that raised over $3.5 million, outperforming Finstad’s $2.79 million. Finstad, a fourth-generation farmer, had previously won the seat by 17 points in 2024.