Minnesota U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn has died at the age of 59 after a long battle with kidney cancer, according to his wife.
Hagedorn's wife, Jennifer Carnahan, announced the news in a Facebook post on Friday morning, writing "there was no stronger conservative in our state than my husband; and it showed in how he voted, led and fought for our country."
The son of a former congressman, Hagedorn won a seat of his own representing southern Minnesota's sprawling first congressional district in the 2018 midterms after three unsuccessful attempts. Hagedorn described himself as someone who "ran to be a conservative reinforcement in Congress."
He explained his focus early on during his tenure in Washington as "how do you take power from Washington and give it back to the people, and some of that is how do you make sure people have the flexibility to use their money how they see fit — not the way the government tells them to."
Hagedorn's campaign said in a statement that Hagedorn died on Thursday "surrounded by his wife, Jennifer, extended family, and friends."
"During his service, Jim's focus was always on the priorities of the region: agriculture, small business, transportation, and our world class health care system," the statement said. "Moreover, he'll forever be known as a commonsense conservative who championed fair tax policy, American energy independence, Peace Through Strength foreign policy, and southern Minnesota's way of life and values."
As a member of Congress, Hagedorn was a staunch ally of President Donald Trump. That loyalty appeared to reach its zenith in early 2021 when Hagedorn voted against certifying President Joe Biden's victory in two swing states hours after the Jan. 6 insurrection that saw a mob of the Trump's supporters violently storm the U.S. Capitol following the Republican leader's false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and rigged.
Hagedorn was born in 1962 in Minnesota. He graduated from George Mason University in Virginia and worked for Republican U.S. Rep. Arlan Stangeland of Minnesota, according to Hagedorn's congressional biography. He also spent time at the United States Treasury Department before winning elected office. His father Tom Hagedorn had earlier served for a number of years as a Republican congressman representing what was then Minnesota's Second Congressional District, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. His son's own ascension to Congress took a number of tries.
After an unsuccessful attempt in 2010, Hagedorn pulled an upset in 2014 when his primary bid overtook the contender that had been endorsed by the GOP convention. Yet later that year, and again in 2016, Hagedorn lost in the general election for Minnesota's First Congressional District seat to incumbent DFLer Tim Walz, who later went on to become governor. Hagedorn eventually won a narrow victory during a race for the open seat in 2018.
"I'm humbled by this opportunity, having seen firsthand my dad do it," Hagedorn told the Star Tribune as he started his first term in early 2019. But the same election that elevated Hagedorn also saw Democrats win the House, limiting how much Hagedorn could accomplish in the Republican minority.
Representing a sweeping southern Minnesota district, Hagedorn backed Trump while also voting against impeaching the Republican president while he was in office.
"I've said repeatedly since 2016 that of course I support Donald Trump, because I felt like if he'd lost, we'd have lost the country," Hagedorn told the Star Tribune in 2019.
Early in his first term, Hagedorn was diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer. He made his diagnosis public in February of 2020, and went on to win a close re-election race for his congressional seat in that fall's election despite being targeted by the House Democrats campaign arm.
After having elective surgery that December to have a kidney and nearby cancerous tissues removed, Hagedorn said during a House floor speech in March of 2021 that his doctor told him that there was "no cancer detected at this time."
Hagedorn then told the public to "get looked into, because the earliest possible detection of serious illness can literally save your life." By early July, Hagedorn's health took a turn when he announced that his cancer had returned. Hagedorn's office announced in January of this year he had tested positive for COVID-19.
In his 2020 race, Hagedorn emphasized a record that included advocating for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement and resulted in Paycheck Protection Program loans benefiting small businesses as the coronavirus pandemic wounded the nation's economy.
During his time in Congress, Hagedorn served on committees dealing with agriculture and small business. He sponsored legislation that reflected that focus. Hagedorn's bill known as the Unlocking Opportunities for Small Businesses Act passed the House in 2020 and later became law as part of a larger bill. Last year, he championed the PPP Flexibility for Farmers and Ranchers Act.
Controversies also lingered around Hagedorn.
During his first term following his 2018 victory, heavy spending on constituent mail by Hagedorn's office drew major scrutiny. A pair of companies that Hagedorn's office paid around $453,000 had links to two staffers in Hagedorn's congressional office, including his then chief of staff who was later fired.
The Office of Congressional Ethics released a report in 2021 about the situation, that noted Hagedorn declined to cooperate with the review. Hagedorn's attorney said that the Republican "had no knowledge of the underlying issues," and had self-reported the issue to the separate House Ethics committee. The lawmaker led panel said last year it was continuing to review the matter involving Hagedorn. The ethics office report also detailed a potential violation involving earlier use of campaign office space.
In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Hagedorn supported a longshot legal attempt that aimed unsuccessfully to invalidate 62 of Democratic President Joe Biden's Electoral College votes.
Following the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack, Hagedorn was among the Republican members of Congress who objected to certifying Biden's 2020 election victory in Arizona and Pennsylvania. The decision made him one of only two Minnesota lawmakers to do so.
He also found himself facing backlash for his campaign and other associated committees having received $21,000 in political donations from Anton "Tony" Lazzaro, who was later arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges. Calling the charges "deeply troubling," Hagedorn pledged soon after that contributions made to his campaign from Lazzaro would "be donated to charities in southern Minnesota."
Hagedorn's wife, Jennifer Carnahan, was forced out from her role as chair of the state Republican Party after calls for her resignation stemming from her closeness with Lazzaro, as well as other allegations about her leadership of the party.
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(Staff writers Briana Bierschbach, Patrick Condon, Jessie Van Berkel and Stephen Montemayor contributed to this report.)
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