Late Rep. Jim Hagedorn's widow Jennifer Carnahan is running for his House seat
Jennifer Carnahan, widow of Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.), announced Monday she'll be running for her late husband's House seat in Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, Minnesota's Park Rapids Enterprise reports.
Hagedorn died of kidney cancer in February. He was 59.
"Though my heart is still heavy after Jim's passing, the encouragement I have received from throughout southern Minnesota has inspired me to carry on his legacy by running to complete the remainder of his term," Carnahan said in a statement, per Fox News. "In the final weeks before his passing, Jim told me to keep forging ahead, to keep reaching my dreams, and to win this seat."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Previously, "Carnahan was elected to a third two-year term as state GOP chair," only to resign after federal prosecutors filed sex trafficking charges against a donor to which she had close ties, writes Park Rapids Enterprise.
She is now the 16th individual to announce their candidacy for the upcoming special election, the primary for which will be held on May 24, with an election on Aug. 9. At least eight other Republicans have entered the race, per Park Rapids Enterprise.
At the time, it's unclear if Carnahan will run in the general election in November.
"Like [former] President Trump, I am a businesswoman and fighter," the new candidate continued in her statement. "Here in Minnesota, I disrupted the status quo and brought the Republican Party back to relevance. Now, I ask for the support of southern Minnesota to do the same in Washington."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Celebrating 250 years of Jane Austen
The Week Recommends From exhibitions to Regency balls, these are the best ways to commemorate the author
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
The pressure of South Korea's celebrity culture
In The Spotlight South Korean actress Kim Sae-ron was laid to rest on Wednesday after an apparent suicide
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Should lying in politics be a criminal offence?
Today's Big Question Welsh government considers new crime of deliberate deception by an elected official
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Trump officials try to reverse DOGE-led firings
Speed Read Mass firings by Elon Musk's team have included employees working on the H5N1 bird flu epidemic and US nuclear weapons programs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump blames Ukraine for war after US-Russia talks
Speed Read The US and Russia have agreed to work together on ending the Ukraine war — but President Trump has flipped America's approach
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to IRS, Social Security files
Speed Read If cleared, the Department of Government Efficiency would have access to tax returns, bank records and other highly personal information about most Americans
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as health secretary
Speed Read The noted vaccine skeptic is now in charge of America's massive public health system
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump lays out plans for broad 'reciprocal' tariffs
Speed Read Tariffs imposed on countries that are deemed to be treating the US unfairly could ignite a global trade war and worsen American inflation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Top US prosecutors resign rather than drop Adams case
speed read The interim US attorney for the Southern District and five senior Justice Department officials quit following an order to drop the charges against Mayor Eric Adams
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms Gabbard as intelligence chief
Speed Read The controversial former Democratic lawmaker, now Trump loyalist, was sworn in as director of national intelligence
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, Putin plan Ukraine peace talks without Kyiv
Speed Read President Donald Trump spoke by phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not included
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published