In a previous newsletter, I shared with you information about my background, experience and history in the 1st Congressional District. I also provided a candid assessment of my strengths and weaknesses and how the Hagedorn campaign will maneuver to diffuse and boomerang attacks in order to run a winning effort. Please click here to view that newsletter.

In the past week I offered a respectful comparison between my candidacy and that of fellow GOP competitors Allen Quist (click here to access that information) and Rep. Randy Demmer (click here to access that information).

As I indicated, the endorsement decision is very important and your willingness to seriously and honestly consider the qualifications and political skills of all the candidates is the key to selecting a conservative, electable standard-bearer for our party. We must nominate the most talented communicator and the person positioned to be our most effective congressman.

The overriding focus of this campaign must be Tim Walz and his liberal record. Come November, if voters do not enter the voting booth sufficiently motivated to kicking Tim Walz out of office for his lock-step allegiance to the left wing and the Obama/Pelosi/Reid machine, then we will likely lose. For the duration of this campaign, the spotlight must remain focused on Tim Walz and his liberal misrepresentation of southern Minnesota.

In the remainder of this newsletter, I will directly, but respectfully contrast my ability to take the fight to Tim Walz with that of my Republican competitor Jim Engstrand.

Mr. Engstrand is a solid conservative who recently returned from National Guard duty in Iraq. I commend his military service to our nation and appreciate the sacrifices he and his family have made to keep our nation free.

But defeating an incumbent congressman is never easy, even with the political winds blowing favorably in our direction. Tim Walz is an aggressive debater and a relentless foe. Mr. Engstrand is a political newcomer and it remains unclear if he has the political experience and skill to out-maneuver the DFL machine and keep the campaign’s focus on Tim Walz and his liberal record.

Mr. Engstrand’s status as a political newcomer is both a plus and minus. Certainly, the electorate, including Republicans, Tea Party activists, Independents and conservative Democrats are seeking fresh faces with new ideas. This is not the election cycle to be carting out retread or ambitious politicians. Yet, Mr. Engstrand’s lack of national political training and legislative experience will place him at a disadvantage in taking the campaign to Tim Walz, especially when countering the congressman’s misrepresentation of congressional legislation and the legislative process in debates and other public forums.

On the campaign trail Mr. Engstrand makes the argument that to win the GOP should nominate a combat veteran to neutralize Tim Walz’s National Guard service. Nominating a military officer could neutralize Walz on the military issue, but that issue is not likely where the race will be won or lost. Instead, a command of economic issues, including job creation, tax and monetary policy and how to get things done in Congress are at the forefront of voters minds. To win in November I believe the GOP must nominate a political veteran who will go to combat with Tim Walz and the DFL machine on the issues.

In the end, command of the issues confronting our nation and the ability to hit the ground running in Washington will be key attributes of a winning candidate. Tim Walz may have a credible resume, but what difference does Walz’s resume make if he is going to misrepresent us on the House floor and vote to destroy the constitutional principles that have made America great?

Jim Hagedorn
Republican Candidate for Congress
Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District

POSITION PAPER
IMMIGRATION/BORDER SECURITY

Since our nation’s founding, the United States has been a beacon of hope and opportunity for those from other countries. And no wonder as our free-market economy, democratic ideals and religious freedom offer people the world over a system of governance superior to anything else that has ever existed. We are all immigrants to our great land and the United States must always serve as a home for political and economic freedom to the oppressed in other nations.

However, we have seen how near absolute power in one political party has negatively impacted our country. National Democrats seem intent to use their huge House and Senate majorities to ram through every conceivable bad idea imaginable. One of the leftist bills President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Tim Walz are likely to push is amnesty for illegal aliens.

The liberal establishment supports a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens; I support a pathway back to the rule of law.

Unlike Tim Walz, who defends the whims of open borders activists, corporate lobbyists and the fringe left, I place the rights and interests of U.S. citizens and the taxpayers squarely in front of foreign nationals. When elected to congress, my focus will be the defense of America and Americans.

Granting citizenship to illegal aliens will not only reward bad behavior, including the hiring of illegal labor, but encourage even more illegal migration to the United States. Illegal immigration drives up tax collections to pay for added social services, incarceration, health care and emergency services. Meanwhile, consumers are forced to pay higher costs for auto insurance, health care and primary education. Additionally, amnesty also unfairly penalizes the millions of immigrants who are playing by the rules and patiently waiting in line to become permanent residents and citizens.

The federal government’s responsibility is to enforce the immigration laws on the books, tenaciously defend the physical borders of our nation, implement serious, systemic immigration verification and visa reforms and, only after the border is secure, establish a temporary work program to responsibly assist U.S. business.

Illegal immigration is also a terrorism-related issue, because, even though most illegal immigrants pose no direct threat to the security of the United States, the magnitude of undocumented people overwhelms law-enforcement, distorts resources, and effectively creates a cover for terrorists and criminals.

In the House of Representatives, I will cosponsor and actively support legislation to:

• commit military and high-technology assets to our southern border
• end the immigration regulatory practice of “birthright citizenship” that enables illegal immigrant parents and family members to use children born in the United States as “anchors” to petition for permanent residency

I will also introduce legislation to provide incentive for illegal immigrants to self-deport and follow legal measures to enter our nation. After a six-month transition period, my bill will permanently deny citizenship and all legal entry into the United States for work, travel, education and other purposes, for any illegal immigrant apprehended inside the borders of the United States.

Both Republicans and Democrats have failed our nation on the issue of illegal immigration and border security. President George W. Bush seemed more consumed with securing the Iran-Iraq border, than defending Americans from the lawlessness flowing north from Mexico. President Bush’s open borders mentality and his administration’s embrace of amnesty legislation contributed mightily to the electorate’s rejection of the GOP.

And if the Democrats attempt to ram through an amnesty bill during this session of Congress, liberals like Tim Walz will be forced to explain how granting citizenship to 12 to 20 million trespassers is responsible policy, especially at a time when our economy is struggling; 10% of Americans are unemployed; wages are stagnating; social programs are stressed beyond capacity; entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare are all but broke, with unfunded liabilities of over $100 trillion; and the dwindling few who pay federal taxes are beleaguered, to say the least.

Tim Walz and the Democrats will try to paint us as “anti-immigrant” and “anti-Hispanic;” but their charges will be complete demagoguery. The United States is the most generous, pro-immigrant nation on earth. Each year we welcome upwards of 1 million legal immigrants, half of which arrive directly from Mexico.

Protecting our nation and enforcing immigration law will require courage and determination. I am committed to defending the principles that made our country great – life, liberty, freedom, faith in God, individual responsibility and the free market.

Jim Hagedorn
Republican Candidate for Congress
Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District

In an earlier newsletter, I shared with you information about my background, experience and history in the 1st Congressional District. I also provided a candid assessment of my strengths and weaknesses and how the Hagedorn campaign will maneuver to diffuse and boomerang attacks in order to run a winning effort. Please click here to view that newsletter.

Earlier this week, I offered a respectful comparison between my candidacy and that of fellow GOP competitor Allen Quist. Click here to access that information.

As I indicated, the endorsement decision is very important and your willingness to seriously and honestly consider the qualifications and political skills of all the candidates is the key to selecting a conservative, electable standard-bearer for our party.

The overriding focus of this campaign must be Tim Walz and his liberal record. Come November, if voters do not enter the voting booth a little angry and eager to kick Tim Walz out of office for his lock-step allegiance to the left wing and the Obama/Pelosi/Reid machine, then we will likely lose. For the duration of this campaign, the spotlight must remain focused on Tim Walz and his liberal misrepresentation of southern Minnesota.

In the remainder of this newsletter, I will directly, but respectfully contrast my ability to take the fight to Tim Walz with that of my Republican competitor Randy Demmer.

Demmer vs. Hagedorn

State Rep. Randy Demmer is a likable, decent GOP official who has represented a Republican-leaning district that encompasses Dodge County and portions of Olmsted County since 2002. In spite of Rep. Demmer’s good nature, in my respectful opinion, he is not best suited for this race. To be frank, this will be a contentious, high-stakes race filled with political combat, and the general perception of Rep. Demmer is that his command of the national issues and campaign demeanor is insufficiently strong to effectively engage and defeat Tim Walz.

While I do not question Rep. Demmer’s sincerity, my competitor’s commitment to this race has come into question with the delegates for two reasons: 1) Rep. Demmer waited until the political winds shifted in Republican favor before making the decision to run; and 2) Rep. Demmer is likely to apply campaign contributions from this 2010 contest to repay a sizable $135,000 debt his campaign incurred during the 2008 endorsement contest.

As you may recall, Rep. Demmer sought Republican endorsement in 2008 to take on Tim Walz, but was defeated by eventual nominee Dr. Brian Davis on the first ballot. Rather than ramping up his message development and fundraising efforts, Mr. Demmer and his campaign went dormant after losing the endorsement, an unusual approach if Mr. Demmer was committed to running again in 2010. However, after viewing the success of Republicans in the November elections, Mr. Demmer re-entered the race in December of 2009, several months after I had committed to the race and after Mr. Quist announced his candidacy.

Rep. Demmer’s ongoing campaign debt issue reminds us that our nominee must be a resourceful, fiscally conservative candidate who will spend campaign funds wisely and manage an effective, winning campaign. Whichever Republican challenger wins this nomination, the race against Tim Walz will be more than adequately funded, as Republicans and like-minded interest groups believe we can retake the House of Representatives in 2010, and they are prepared to ante into every competitive race. Even so, we must nominate a candidate who will manage our funds responsibly and make every dime count in our campaign to defeat the liberal incumbent.

To defeat Tim Walz we must nominate a candidate capable of articulating and defending strong conservative positions, vividly contrast those issue positions with Walz’s liberalism, and then tenaciously and effectively take the campaign to Tim Walz each and every day of the contest.

While Rep. Demmer is a good man with an exceptional community-based resume, his issue positions lack depth, his record of legislative achievement is nonexistent, his voting record is weak in key areas, and his political style is considered timid. Unfortunately, these are not the attributes of a Republican candidate who will inspire the electorate, fight Walz toe-to-toe, defeat the forceful incumbent, and then make a serious contribution in the House of Representatives.

Rep. Demmer has been a loyal member of the Republican Caucus in the Minnesota House, but his voting record could best be described as moderate-to-conservative. After eight years in office, Rep. Demmer has earned a 62 percent lifetime rating from the Legislative Evaluation Assembly, a non-partisan organization which ranks legislators “on the traditional American principles of constitutionalism, limited government, free enterprise, legal and moral order with justice and individual liberty and dignity.”

Despite eight years in the legislature, I would respectfully submit that Rep. Demmer has not established himself as a champion for any conservative legislation or as a recognized advocate for any conservative cause. Rep. Demmer has made countless speeches about his solid “resume” but seems incapable of articulating any “record” of achievement in the legislature.

These are serious times calling for forceful, skilled legislators to reverse course in Washington, D.C. Voters are looking for candidates with the demonstrated ability to affect conservative change. With all due respect to Rep. Demmer, if a legislator cannot make a difference in

St. Paul, can he be expected to do so in Washington, D.C.?

In a year when Republican base voters are seeking candidates with solid conservative credentials and government reform accomplishments, Rep. Demmer falls short. In a year when Tea Party and Independent voters are embracing clear distinctions between candidates, Rep. Demmer offers inconsistency.

Take for instance Rep. Demmer’s misguided vote for the “Next Generation Energy Act,” Minnesota’s micro-version of the federal cap and trade legislation.

According to the Minnesota House of Representatives’ analysis of the law, click here, the Next Generation Energy Act is designed to mitigate manmade global warming, restrict the use of fossil fuels, establish caps on carbon emissions, and set in motion a regionally-based cap and trade system.

The Next Generation Energy Act also codifies provisions of another fringe environmental bill voted for by Rep. Demmer, the Public Utilities Renewable Energy Standards Act, which arbitrarily forces Minnesota’s energy companies to supply 25% of our electricity from renewable sources (wind, solar, etc.) by 2025.

The environmental bills Rep. Demmer voted for will make it virtually impossible for Minnesota’s energy companies to build new coal-fired plants, thus forcing the use of more expensive energy sources. The act will especially increase electricity costs for consumers, farmers and manufacturers of southern Minnesota, because upwards of 90% of our electricity is delivered via coal. Making matters worse, the global warming bills Rep. Demmer voted for did absolutely nothing to force the liberals to accept increased use of nuclear power.

At a time when unemployment is extremely high and Minnesota’s businesses are struggling to stay afloat, Rep. Demmer’s liberal energy votes represent a slap-in-the face. The fringe environmental bills that he supported are job killers that will undercut Minnesota’s competitiveness and undermine our business climate.

Finally, Rep. Demmer tried to explain away his liberal environmental votes in part by stating he voted “in support of the Governor…” But isn’t this the type of go-along to get-along mentality that congressional Republicans exhibited when they were complicit in growing government, adding to the bloated federal budget deficit, and expanding federal programs and earmarks under former President Bush?

Minnesota needs leaders who will stand strong for our conservative principles and not waiver when party leaders buy into the liberal/progressive agenda. Furthermore, Rep. Demmer’s vote in favor of global warming legislation nullifies his ability to offer a stark contrast to Tim Walz’s 2009 vote for federal cap and trade legislation. Walz’s support for cap and trade must be one of the key votes highlighted in the campaign. The energy issue resonates with southern Minnesotans and will help us win the support of consumers, small business owners, farmers, the agricultural community, and manufacturers.

Meanwhile, my energy views are clear cut, click here, and offer the voters a distinct conservative versus liberal choice in November.

Rep. Demmer is an honorable man, but to date has not offered specific policy proposals other than the more generic statements on growth in government and jobs found on his website. I invite you to compare our answers on specific policy questions head-to-head by clicking here.

The purpose of this endorsement contest is to nominate the candidate best able to defeat Tim Walz and best positioned to be the most effective member of congress for southern Minnesota. Rep. Demmer’s eight years in the Minnesota House have not made him a noteworthy figure in southern Minnesota, nor have they contributed to the expanded name identification that might help in a general election.

I am proud of my background and record as a Washington reformer, which I have shared with many of you and which you can read about here. In spite of Rep. Demmer’s fine attributes and political service, given the challenges of this campaign and all that is at stake for our nation’s future, I believe that my record and ability best position me to take the campaign to Tim Walz and effectively serve you in congress.

The very principles on which our country was founded – life, liberty, freedom, faith in God, individual responsibility and the free market – are worth defending. That is why I am running and asking you to join me in defeating Tim Walz.

I respectfully ask for your vote on Saturday, April 17 at the 1st Congressional District Endorsing Convention.

Jim Hagedorn
Republican Candidate for Congress
Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District

In my last newsletter, I shared with you information about my background, experience and history in the 1st Congressional District. I also provided a candid assessment of my strengths and weaknesses and how the Hagedorn campaign will handle them in a way necessary to run a winning effort. Please click here to view that newsletter.

Let’s be frank about this election. Even with the positive political winds blowing our direction, defeating an incumbent congressman is never easy. Tim Walz is an energetic campaigner and will enjoy many benefits of incumbency. Luckily, we have the people and the issues behind us.

This endorsement decision is very important and I appreciate your willingness to seriously consider the qualifications of all the candidates. This election may be our one-and-only chance to defeat Tim Walz before he becomes solidly entrenched, so the Republican candidate must have the political talents and dogged determination to get the job done right now.

The overriding focus of this campaign must be Tim Walz and his liberal record. Come November, if voters do not enter the voting booth a little angry and eager to kick Tim Walz out of office for his lock-step allegiance to the left wing and the Obama/Pelosi/Reid machine, then we will likely lose. For the duration of this campaign, the spotlight must remain focused on Tim Walz and his liberal misrepresentation of southern Minnesota.

Your job is to determine which Republican candidate is most capable of taking the fight to Tim Walz. In other words, which candidate is devoted to running a winning race and which candidate has demonstrated the ability to articulate strong conservative positions, defend those positions and contrast them with Walz’s liberalism, and then tenaciously and effectively take the campaign to Tim Walz each and every day.

Not every Republican candidate has the mindset or political tools to be an effective campaigner. Running a winning “challenger” race requires an articulate, disciplined, tough political fighter with the skills to anticipate, neutralize, and counter DFL attacks. Through my position papers, interviews, debate responses, newsletters, and our conversations, I have been working hard to show that I am the disciplined, resourceful candidate you need to fight Tim Walz on the issues and restore conservative representation in southern Minnesota.

And, hopefully I am also impressing upon you how my Washington, D.C. experience, combined with my Ronald Reagan conservative philosophy and farm raised Minnesota heritage, position me to be the most effective congressman and conservative leader. Unlike the typical freshman member of congress, who spends his/her first term or two working through a steep congressional learning curve, my intimate understanding of the job and national legislative experience will afford me to immediately focus on legislating, defeating the liberals, and looking out for the priorities of the 1st District.

Under the most favorable of political circumstances, our opportunity to reform government, repeal and replace health care and roll-back liberalism will be short lived. If we fail, much of what the Forefathers fought and died to create will likely be lost forever. To out-maneuver the Democrats and save our Republic, the House Republican caucus will need as many experienced conservative leaders as possible within its ranks during the next Congress. While my Republican competitors are good men, my national legislative experience and government reform expertise uniquely qualify me to make a serious and immediate impact in the House of Representatives and help deliver the conservative change for which we pray.

In the remainder of this newsletter, I will directly, but respectfully contrast my ability to take the fight to Tim Walz with that of my Republican competitor Allen Quist.

Quist vs. Hagedorn

Despite being a solid conservative, Quist campaigns are known for making provocative statements that often generate sympathy for opponents and undermine our conservative cause. Even during this relatively short campaign, counter-productive attacks made by Mr. Quist concerning Tim Walz and the Democratic Party provided Walz with a national media platform as well as a national fundraising base.

By contrast, my effective attacks against Walz on the terrorism issue not only highlighted the stark differences on the issue, but helped diffuse Walz’s tactic of using his National Guard service to defend his out-of-step liberal positions. Click here to view my position paper on terrorism.

This race will not be won by expressing inflammatory language or extreme issue positions, as those tactics will serve to distract from Tim Walz’s poor record. The campaign must be disciplined, yet tenacious, and avoid the type of unforced errors that have plagued my Republican competitor.

Secondly, while he is a fine man, Mr. Quist has not been successful at the ballot box since 1986, some 24 years ago. The Tea Party, Independent and conservative Democratic voters we need inspire to defeat Tim Walz are looking for new faces, fresh ideas and candidates who have not run repeatedly for higher office.

Mr. Quist’s allegiance to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is understandable, and I would expect nothing less as Mrs. Quist serves as the congresswoman’s district director. Congresswoman Bachmann has impeccable conservative credentials and serves the 6th District with distinction. But tying one’s candidacy to another campaign is politically risky and offers the media a free pass to issue stories about Bachmann-Quist, rather than Tim Walz and his liberal voting record.

Walz is an energetic 46 year old congressman and the campaign will be an intense, grueling and physically demanding race in which the ability to campaign for long hours is necessary. All in all, at age 47, I may be a bit better suited to engage Walz and his liberal followers at every turn, in every parade, in every town and at every public event.

Allen Quist is a good God-fearing man who has been a conservative advocate for almost three decades. I applaud his conservative activism and his passion for the issues, especially protection of the unborn and Christian-based education reforms.

As a Missouri Synod Lutheran, I too am Pro-Life from “conception through last breath” and believe that government’s responsibility is to protect all innocent life, including especially the unborn, the disabled and the elderly. I also support the use of vouchers to reintroduce competition into education and enable families to choose the most appropriate education venue, whether that be parochial, public, military, for-profit or home school.

The purpose of this endorsement contest is to nominate the candidate best able to defeat Tim Walz and best positioned to be the most effective member of congress for southern Minnesota. In spite of Mr. Quist’s fine attributes, I believe that at this point in time, and for the reasons I have submitted thus far, I am your best choice.

The very principles on which our country was founded – life, liberty, freedom, faith in God, individual responsibility and the free market – are worth defending. That is why I am running and asking you to join me in defeating Tim Walz.

I respectfully ask for your vote on Saturday, April 17 at the 1st Congressional District Endorsing Convention.

Jim Hagedorn
Republican Candidate for Congress
Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District

In my last email, I discussed the importance of “issues and electability” as key components of a winning campaign against Tim Walz. In future emails I will directly contrast my ability to take the fight to Tim Walz with that of my Republican competitors.

Today I would like to offer a frank analysis of my own perceived weaknesses and show how these weaknesses are likely to become strengths as the general election campaign unfolds.

Republican activists are nothing if not honest and straightforward, and the criticism of my candidacy is simple: “You’re not from here,” or, “You’ve been away too long,” or “You moved back to run,” or “You are a Washington insider,” or one of several variations of that theme.

I welcome this discussion and appreciate the chance to explain the noble motivations that led me to enter this race. But first let me lay out how my 25 years of congressional/executive branch expertise will benefit our conservative cause during the campaign and after I am sworn into office.

It is true that I spent a quarter-century learning the ropes on Capitol Hill and building a record of government reform and legislative achievement.

My federal service helped me develop a solid command of the national issues, a working knowledge of the Congress and bureaucracy, an understanding of congressional elections, national political connections, and a keen awareness of the pitfalls that far too often trip up new Republican members of Congress.

Unlike many who used their DC expertise to lobby, expand government and seek personal enrichments, I utilized my talents and federal positions to reform government, cut spending, improve service and eliminate bureaucratic jobs. My record reflects not only the ability to devise bills and manage them through the legislative process, but the willingness to fight for conservative change without regard to personal ambition.

My record as a government reformer will appeal to an electorate hungry for a true conservative who can be an effective legislator and defeat the bureaucracy and the political Left. My political and legislative experience will help me take the debate to Tim Walz, win this election, and serve as an effective conservative Congressman. If we are serious about defeating the liberals and repealing the dramatic expansion of the federal government, we need to send a Republican to Congress with the proven ability to legislate and out-maneuver the Washington establishment.

During the general election campaign, my record of national legislative accomplishments and conservatism will contrast favorably with that of Tim Walz, who has moved zero bills through the Congress and owns a voting record grossly out of step with our moderate-to-conservative district.

When the DFL inevitably attacks me as being a “Washington insider,” it will give my campaign the chance to counterpunch and highlight my conservatism and government reform record and contrast with Walz’s lackluster legislative performance and outright liberalism. In other words, Democrat attacks will actually help me define the race as a choice between two candidates with congressional credentials: one, a conservative who reformed government, cut spending and downsized the bureaucracy; the other, a liberal with no legislative record who continually votes to expand government, increase taxes and impose government control over our lives. Such a comparison will work to our advantage.

Southern Minnesotans are ready for a leader who will go to Washington and remain true to his conservative principles and use the job to defeat the bureaucracy, roll-back liberalism, and defend America. I am the only challenger who offers the voters such a proven legislative record.

For additional information about my Minnesota roots, career and accomplishments, click here.

So, what motivated me to enter this race?

During my service in Washington, I became increasingly concerned with our country’s direction. Republicans, who held the presidency and a majority in both houses of congress, had become infatuated with power and devoid of any agenda for reform. In my opinion, instead of exercising political power to scale-back liberalism and enact conservative solutions, Republicans became “go along, get along” politicians who expanded government and increased federal spending in a futile attempt to protect political ambition.

I warned openly and honestly in my writings from 2005 through the 2008 election that if Republicans did not return to our roots as the true party of fiscal, defense, and social conservatism (Ronald Reagan conservatism), we were destined to lose standing with the public. I believed then, as I do now, that in many ways our party’s incompetence and liberalism paved the way for the election of the most leftist president in U.S. history.

After the 2008 Obama/Democrat landslide, and the re-election of liberal Tim Walz, I hit a wall of frustration and realized that if conservative change was to take place it would require true conservatives to stand up and take risks. I felt that my call was to return home and seek election to Congress.

This wasn’t a decision I made lightly. I thoroughly enjoyed my secure Treasury position, was paid a salary well north of six figures, and received excellent benefits. However, to me, those things were inconsequential if the principles on which our Founding Fathers fought and died were being destroyed by the Obama/Pelosi/Reid/Walz machine.

I returned to Minnesota and began crisscrossing the district in July and August, meeting with the 1st District chairman and party leaders to discuss the race. Based upon encouragement from county chairs and influential GOP leaders, I decided in late August to commit to the race, reorganize my life, and move back to Blue Earth.

At the time of my decision, I was the only candidate actively working the district. And no wonder, as most of the political analysts were still predicting a new “era of Obama” that would dominate our politics for decades to come. I knew my time away from the district would be of concern, which is why I returned as quickly as possible, to renew old friendships and meet the newer activists who have more recently joined our party.

Hopefully you agree that I returned the same decent, Christian conservative who grew up on a grain and livestock farm near Truman and attended LCMS parochial school. As a candidate who was born and raised in the heart of the 1st Congressional District, I share your values – the values of the moderate-to-conservative voters who are now represented by the most liberal congressman in southern Minnesota’s history.

My motivations for seeking your endorsement are honorable – to make a difference for our country; and, humbly serve you, the people of southern Minnesota. The very principles on which our country was founded – life, liberty, freedom, faith in God, individual responsibility and the free market – are worth defending. I know you feel the same.

Please join me in restoring America’s greatness. I respectfully ask for your vote on Saturday, April 17 at the 1st Congressional District Endorsing Convention.

Jim Hagedorn
Republican Candidate for Congress
Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District