Jim Hagedorn was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He was part of the delegation to Congress from Minnesota, representing the state's 1st District.
Both before and after formally entering elective politics, Hagedorn would garner controversy. For much of his Congressional career, he was also dealing with kidney cancer.
Passed away from the disease
Jim Hagedorn has died. He was 59. The month before, it was announced he'd been admitted to the Mayo Clinic after testing positive for COVID-19. His case has been considered to be mild, likely at least in part because he'd been following advice from the medical community.
But the move was still made, apparently out of an abundance of caution.
Many of Hagedorn's colleagues have issued statements of mourning following his passing. Including members of both the Republican party and the Democratic Party. It also would include members of both houses of Congress.
Hagedorn was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018. He was later re-elected in 2020 and had been planning to run for another term before his death. Hagedorn was a member of the House Committees on Agriculture and Small Business.
Previously, he'd had another sort of Congressional career as a staffer for longtime U.S. Representative Arlan Stangeland. Also, a Republican, Stangeland was elected from the 7th District of Minnesota.
It also hadn't been Hagedorn's first attempt for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018. After winning the Republican primary in each year, he lost the general election in 2014 and 2016. On both occasions, he was defeated by Democratic incumbent Tim Walz. Walz has since gone on to become the governor of Minnesota.
Jim Hagedorn also worked elsewhere in the public sector. For several years, he worked with the United States Department of the Treasury. First within the Financial Management Services, followed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
Hagedorn would receive a bachelor's degree from George Mason University in government and political science.
Previously, he had graduated from Langley High School in Virginia.
He was born in Blue Earth in southern Minnesota. Later, to be raised on a farm in nearby Truman. Along with McLean, Virginia, not far from Washington, D.C.
Second-generation member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Jim Hagedorn's father, Tom, is a former U.S. representative. Another Republican, he served during the 1970s and the 1980s. Tom Hagedorn has also been a member of the United States Navy and the Minnesota House of Representatives.
In 2018, the younger Hagedorn married Jennifer Carnahan. Carnahan was born in South Korea before being adopted by an American family. She would eventually become the chairwoman of the Minnesota chapter of the Republican Party.
