Jim Hagedorn, a Republican representative from Minnesota, died following a fight with renal cancer on Friday, February 18, 2022. He was 59 years old when he died. His wife, former Minnesota State GOP chair Jennifer Carnahan, broke the news of his death. She revealed,
“It is with a broken heart, shattered soul, and immense grief that I inform you that my husband, Congressman Jim Hagedorn, died peacefully last night.”
In February 2019, Hagedorn was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer, barely six weeks after being elected to his first term. After having surgery and immunotherapy treatment at the Mayo Clinic, he publicly confirmed his diagnosis in February 2020. Sadly, his cancer resurfaced in July 2021. Following his second cancer diagnosis, Hagedorn vowed to continue fighting for the country and the people of Minnesota. He declared,
“You can be certain that I will continue to fight for America and represent the people of Minnesota’s First Congressional District with the utmost passion and enthusiasm.” I’m still optimistic about the future. “Jesus Christ is keeping an eye on me.”
In January, the Congressman tested positive for COVID, although he declared that he had been vaccinated and had relatively moderate symptoms. Carnahan described her husband as the “strongest conservative” in an emotional farewell, saying he loved his nation and enjoyed serving the people of southern Minnesota. She further noted that Hagedorn spent daily realizing his ambition of aiding people.
A look back at Jim Hagedorn’s life.
Jim Hagedorn was born in 1962 in Blue Earth, Minnesota, to parents Tom and Kathleen. He was raised on a farm outside of Truman as part of an agricultural family. As a kid, the Congressman was influenced by politicians such as Jack Kemp, Henry Hyde, and Ronald Reagan. After Hagedorn’s father was elected to Congress to represent southern Minnesota’s Second Congressional District in 1974, the family relocated to Washington, D.C., and Minnesota.
According to the website, Hagedorn began working as a teenager, delivering newspapers, mowing lawns, and teaching tennis to raise money for college and his first car. At 18, he began working as a busboy and salesperson to help pay for his college education. George Mason University awarded the future politician a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Politics. In 1984, he began working as Republican Congressman Arlan Stangeland’s legislative aide in Minnesota’s Seventh Congressional District. Hagedorn was in charge of the Congressman’s legislative agenda, which included management of a bipartisan workfare bill. After Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives in 1994, the measure was signed into law.
In 2018, Hagedorn was elected to represent Minnesota’s First Congressional District. That same year, he married Jennifer Carnahan. On January 3, 2019, he was sworn in to represent the United States House of Representatives district. The politician also served on the House Committee on Agriculture and Small Business to support farming, Main Street businesses, and southern Minnesota’s rural way of life. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with cancer twice, first in 2018 and once in 2021. On February 18, 2022, the 59-year-old lost his struggle for life and died quietly in his sleep. Jim Hagedorn was a loving husband, son, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew, friend, brother-in-law, son-in-law, Vikings, Penguins, and Twins lover, according to his wife, and he will be mourned and remembered by many.
