Jim Hagedorn

He had been battling kidney cancer the last few years.

Jim loved our country and loved representing the people of southern Minnesota. Every moment of every day he lived his dream by serving others. I miss you. Jim Hagedorn, I love you.

Hagedorn, a Republican, was serving in his second term at the time of his death. His wife, Jennifer Carnahan, announced the news in a Facebook post on ...

"I'm thankful that he got the chance to do that, and heartbroken that he wasn't able to continue to live out that dream." "And he worked right to the end." Trump, who campaigned with Hagedorn in 2018, released a statement Friday calling him "a strong and effective legislator for the great people of southern Minnesota" and said he had enjoyed working with him. Hagedorn also faced questions after his campaign and an associated committee received $21,000 in political donations from Anton "Tony" Lazzaro, who was later arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges. It was later revealed that two companies that received around $453,000 from his office had connections to two of his staffers. "A lot of people don't get the opportunity to see that." Hagedorn was reelected to the seat in 2020, defeating repeat DFL challenger Dan Feehan. Hagedorn is the 14th member of Congress from Minnesota to die while in office. "And Jim, I think, knew that better than anybody else, that there were people who weren't getting a fair shake under the current system and that there needed to be a sea change in how we dealt with some of these issues." Voting will occur within the current district boundaries, not those established in the new state maps announced this week, and the winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Hagedorn's term. His office announced last month that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was being treated for it at Mayo Clinic. He also urged people to "get looked into, because the earliest possible detection of serious illness can literally save your life."