Press Release

Today, Congressman Jim Hagedorn is set to debate DFL Party-endorsed candidate and combat veteran Dan Feehan at 5:00 PM on KEYC. As the two candidates prepare to square off, the contrast could not be more clear: Congressman Hagedorn is a corrupt, self-serving D.C. politician while Dan Feehan is a man of integrity fighting to make life better for Minnesotans everywhere.

Ahead of tonight’s debate, here’s what you need to know about Congressman Hagedorn’s record:

Hagedorn is embroiled in a major ethics scandal: Congressman Hagedorn was recently caught spending hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars on campaign-style mailers to his district. Worse still, one of the businesses Hagedorn used to send those mailers was owned by one of his staffers, and the other is likely owned by Hagedorn’s then-Chief of Staff’s brother. This violation of House ethics rules earned Hagedorn a formal ethics complaint and likely a formal investigation. Hagedorn has tried to deny all involvement in the mail program, and even hired a lawyer for crooked politicians to clear him of any wrongdoing, however Hagedorn was recently caught saying he had no problem breaking ethics rules by funneling money into the pockets of staffers, and that he wanted mailers to go to “every damn household” in his district.

Hagedorn isn’t getting things done for Minnesotans: Hagedorn was dubbed Minnesota’s least productive Congressman, a title which he still holds to this day.

Hagedorn is a disaster for Minnesotans’ health care: Instead of working on behalf of the people of Minnesota, Hagedorn has been carrying water for wealthy special interests by caving to pressure from a drug company-funded outside group and voting against a bill to allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. Hagedorn has repeatedly voted to gut protections in the Affordable Care Act, including protections for more than 275,000 people in MN-01. He was even the only member of Minnesota’s bipartisan delegation not to sign onto a letter urging the Administration to protect funding for MinnesotaCare.

The contrast between Hagedorn and his opponent, Dan Feehan, is stark. Feehan is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and earned a Bronze Star for Service and Army Commendation Medal with Valor for his work hunting for roadside bombs and leading combat missions. A man of integrity, Feehan has pledged to tackle dark money in politics, has refused all corporate PAC money, and has rolled out numerous plans to help Minnesota families, including one to lower the cost of prescription drugs.