Recount Possible for Minnesota’s First Congressional District Where Johnson Leads Finstad by 324-Vote Margin

Rochester, MN (RochesterNow)- The race to represent southern Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives could be heading for a recount. 

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Republican Incumbent Brad Finstad and DFL challenger Jake Johnson faced off for the seat. 

Finstad is vying for a third term, while Johnson is attempting to become the first Democrat to win the seat since then Rep. Tim Walz won re-election in 2016. 

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Democrats are projected to have flipped the US House and hold a majority when the new Congress is sworn in early next year. 

Johnson Leads Finstad by 324 Votes in Race for MN-1, Margin Meets Threshold for Publicly-Funded Recount

Results posted by the Minnesota Secretary of State Office show Johnson with a 324-vote lead over Finstad. He took 49.99% of the vote while 49.89% of voters chose Finstad. 

All 750 precincts in the first district have reported. Johnson took to Social Media to declare victory, writing in a Facebook post “I'm honored to serve you as our next congressman from southern Minnesota. Let's get to work.” 

Rep. Finstad has not yet released a statement on the election results. 

Minnesota Law Regarding Recounts

.State law indicates a publicly funded recount “may occur if the difference in the number of votes cast for the apparent winning candidate and any other candidate is less than one-quarter of 1 percent (0.25 percent).” 

Recounts are open to the public. A recount has not been announced as of 9:00 Wednesday morning. 

The election results show Johnson winning the Rochester area vote by a 62.15% to 37.73% margin. More Rochester-area election results are available below.

Read More: Rochester Area Election Results