Election 2018: Hagedorn Flips Democratic Seat in 1st

MANKATO -- Republican Jim Hagedorn has won southern Minnesota's 1st District race, flipping a Democratic seat that the GOP had targeted in hopes of hanging on to a House majority.

Hagedorn defeated Iraq War veteran Dan Feehan, a Democrat who was an acting assistant secretary of defense in the Obama administration. It was Hagedorn's fourth try for Congress.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Walz vacated the seat to run for governor, setting up an intense contest that drew nearly $15 million in outside spending.

Hagedorn came close to beating Walz in 2016, when President Donald Trump carried the district. He really never stopped running after that, and made his support for the president a centerpiece of his campaign.

Hagedorn is the son of former U.S. Rep. Tom Hagedorn, who once represented part of the same area.