U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.) died Thursday following a battle with cancer, the lawmaker's wife announced Friday morning, per Axios.
Hagedorn, 59, had served as a member of Congress since 2019, following in the footsteps of his father Tom Hagedorn, "who represented the same district in the late 1970s and early 1980s," The Hill writes.
"Jim loved our country and loved representing the people of southern Minnesota," Hagedorn's wife, Jennifer Carnahan, wrote in a Facebook post on Friday, per the Hill. "Every moment of every day he lived his dream by serving others. There was no stronger conservative in our state than my husband; and it showed in how he voted, led and fought for our country."
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The Republican lawmaker was first diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in 2019; though doctors removed a kidney in 2020, the cancer returned last summer, per Axios.
In 2018, he won his seat in southern Minnesota's 1st Congressional District by less than 1,500 votes, "flipping a seat that had been held by Democrats for over a decade," Axios writes. He narrowly won again in 2020.
"Jim and I served in the U.S. House during a time of many great challenges for our nation and for our state — and all the while, he bravely endured the personal challenge of cancer treatment with dignity and grace while serving our country and his constituents," Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) wrote in a statement on Hagedorn's death, per the Hill. "Despite our policy differences on many issues, Jim and I were united in the common goal of achieving greater opportunities for future generations of Minnesotans."
