The future of Minnesota politics after Congressman Hagedorn’s passing

(ABC 6 News) – As Rep. Jim Hagedorn’s loved ones and colleagues continue to mourn, many are wondering what the midterm elections will look like.

U.S. Representative Hagedorn represented Minnesota’s 1st District since 2019.

"At the levels of representative government, these are friends, these are colleagues, these are people who know each other so there will be sort of a mourning period where I think people would say politics are going to wait for a little bit," political analyst Shane Baker said.

While the state and country mourn his loss, the constitution is clear about what will happen next to find his replacement.

"This is one of those state and federal kinds of cross-over points where it’s really up to the governor at this point to call a special election and then we would have the special election that would sort of move forward for essentially an interim position," Baker said.

The interim position would hold the seat until November when the midterm elections take place.

"Clearly whoever runs in this sort of special election and then certainly whoever wins in the special election from the pure politics of it is absolutely at an advantage compared to everyone else," Baker said.

The interim will have an opportunity to officially run for the seat and it comes with new changes because of the redistricting plans for 2022. District 1, which is what Hagedorn represented, gained two more counties: Goodhue and Wabasha.

"As much as there’s a partisan divide these days and as much as Democrats and Republicans kind of the mudslinging and everything, at the end of the day, whose family hasn’t been effected by cancer and whose family hasn’t sort of understood, unfortunately, what this means just on a personal level," Baker said.

For now the decision is in the hands of Gov. Walz. There is no word yet on when a special election would be held.