Jake JohnsonJake Johnson

Jake Johnson, a high school teacher, is seeking to follow in the steps of another former high school teacher —Minnesota Governor Tim Walz—who flipped this district in the 2006 blue wave. Johnson has proven to be a strong fundraiser and polling has shown that he is running competitively with Finstad. He will also benefit from sharing the ballot with Senator Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic candidate for governor, who has won this district in all of her elections.

High school math teacher who supports a data center pause in southern Minnesota. Won the DFL primary 8/11/26 with 81.7% and faces Republican Rep. Brad Finstad in November. Moderate on AI safety and regulation, strong on data center opposition, moderate public voice on AI.

The son of a garbage collector and a meter reader, Jake Johnson and his ten siblings grew up in a working class family that worked hard to achieve the American dream while relying on Medicaid and SNAP. Now a public school math teacher and leader in his union, Jake is running for Congress because Southern Minnesota is struggling — and D.C. swamp creature Brad Finstad is making things worse for families like the one he grew up in. Jake will work to bring down costs, tackle corruption, go after wasteful spending and misuse of taxpayer dollars, and invest in Minnesota’s small towns. While Finstad prioritizes special interests and refuses to show up for Minnesotans, Jake will put families and farmers first. In this district won three times by Amy Klobuchar, Jake is the candidate who will flip this seat and bring change to Southern Minnesota.

Congressional District 1: Jake Johnson will fight to ensure ALL Minnesotans have water that is safe to drink, cook with, and play in!