Jake Johnson on razor-thin Minnesota congressional race

All right, we have to continue talking about these midterm elections. A lot of the races, of course, have been called, but there are still a few that we are watching. So we wanted to discuss specifically this race in Congressional District 1 in southern Minnesota. A former high school math teacher from Rochester is on the verge of flipping that particular area blue. This has been a very close race. Right now, I just looked at the numbers, still by 323 votes. We have Democrat Johnson versus Republican incumbent Brad Finstad and we want to bring in Jake Johnson to talk about what has been going on. Jake, I know you declared victory yesterday. Great to have you along with us. We have a lot to talk about. So thanks for joining us. Yeah, thanks for taking the time to chat with me. Of course. So as I mentioned, you declared victory yesterday. You had a victory speech last night that we actually took over our air during the five o'clock hour. I have to ask you, how are you feeling right now, especially just looking at how close this is? Yeah, I mean, humbled and excited. The people of southern Minnesota put their faith in me to represent them in the halls of Congress. It's not a responsibility I take lightly and excited to get to work. Have you heard from Brad Finstad or his campaign at all? Nope, not at this time, and so we're just focused on, you know, how can we transition here into providing the kind of service that the people of southern Minnesota need and the voice in Congress that they deserve. So let's talk about this process too. So Minnesota does not automatically order a recount, but because this margin is so tight here, it's less than 0.25%, Finstad can ask for a recount, which is taxpayer funded. I wanted to mention something that we just got in just a couple of minutes ago from Finstad. This is his statement, and I'm going to read it to you, and I'm just reading some of this for the first time as well. So it says, thank you to the more than 326,000 of my fellow Southern Minnesotans. And he talks about how the law says, you know, below 0.25%. He says that we will allow the recount process to proceed and await the results. I am grateful to everyone who participated in this election. We will work to ensure that the full process established under state and federal law is followed so that every vote is counted in an accurate and transparent manner as we move toward a final determination of the results. What do you make of that? Listen, Congressman Finstad is entitled to do what he thinks he needs to do. Thank you. We've seen the votes are counted. We prevailed by over 300 votes. And so I've declared victory until I see anything that proves otherwise. And right now, my primary focus is with all the votes counted, all the votes in, we have a majority. And so I am working. To make sure that I can provide the kind of service that the people of southern Minnesota expected of me when I when I start this job in January. Well, Finstad has held the seat since 2022, the area has seemed to go a little more red in recent years. What do you think that you offered that sort of just resonated with voters this time around? I mean, it was a couple things. You know, costs are out of control across southern Minnesota. Things are too expensive. And Congressman Finstad has implemented policies that made things worse, more expensive, whether it was the tariffs, supporting the Iran war, cuts to health care. Thank you. And I think people were fed up. I think also the reality is Congressman Finstad has been very clear about his unwillingness to host any public meetings. And the fact that we held one in every county, open to everyone, Republicans, Independents and Democrats were able to come out, speak their minds. I got to hear from heartbreaking stories, stories of hope from people all across the political spectrum. That's what our democracy is supposed to represent. And I think it's one of the things where people demanded more and were able to I was able to, you know, see themselves in our campaign. And I think it resonated with a lot of folks. And your opponent won by more than 17 percentage points just two years ago. We also can talk about President Trump as well. He carried that district by double digits in 2024 when you take a look at the numbers. So you have sort of positioned yourself as an independent-minded moderate, I should say. So when thinking about that on a greater scale of things, will you maybe vote along party lines or are you up for going against your party? No, I've been very clear throughout this campaign that I do not see my job as working for a political party. My job is to work for the people of southern Minnesota. And so, you know, what that means is when good ideas come up that are supported by and pushed by Republicans, I'm going to support those. When Democrats have good ideas, then I'm going to help push those. When I bring things to the forefront to bring down costs and tackle corruption, Invest in our small towns. I'm looking for partners across the political spectrum. I think that's the way it's supposed to work. I think that's why the people of southern Minnesota have put their faith in me. That's what they're going to be able to expect for my two years in office. And a couple of other things. So you have said that you wanted to balance the federal budget while also promising to protect Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid as well. What spending are you willing to cut? Well, listen, we've done this before in the history of government. You know, we had a Democratic president and a Republican speaker of the House who balanced the budget. It's been done before. We can do it again. You know, the fact of the matter is what we need are some serious people to sit down and say we're not going to treat debt ceiling increases as though they are just, you know, run of show. And so I vowed and I promise I will not not vote for debt ceiling increases until we have a balanced budget and we need to take a look. We need Republicans and Democrats to sit down together and say, OK, where can we find efficiencies in our government? I've been clear. I think the idea behind DOGE was a good idea. It's the implementation that was such a failure. And then finding ways to make sure that billionaires, huge corporations actually pay their fair share. We need to look at both the revenue and then how we are spending our money and make sure that it actually meets the needs of the American people. And so it's gonna take all of us, it's gonna take serious people seeing this as a crisis right now to make a change. For people to say, well, that's a crisis down the road or that's irresponsible. You know, the reality is we spent a trillion dollars last year just paying off interest on our national debt. That's more than Medicare. That's more than SNAP. That's more than national defense in this country. And so until we as a country can wrap our mind around and have leaders wrap their mind around the fact that the debt is already a crisis, it is gouging out of our ability to bring down costs, we're not going to get anywhere. And so I look forward to finding good faith partners to figure out what this looks like so that we can actually bring down the cost of everyday goods here in southern Minnesota. Let's talk about federal immigration enforcement for a second. Of course, many people across Minnesota, specifically when you think of Operation Metro Surge, have that on the top of their mind. So you have expressed support for border security, also deporting violent criminals, while also criticizing how ICE operates. How do you see maybe the future of ICE operations and federal immigration enforcement? Yeah, I mean, I think we need comprehensive immigration reform across the board. You know, You know, I've been, you know, I've praised the president as far as his ability to stop illegal border crossings. When you look at the numbers, that's the truth. That's where we're at. But we need more, right? What we saw here in the state of Minnesota was a well-funded and incredibly well-funded and poorly trained militia wreaking havoc in our communities. There is a role for ICE to play in an immigration system that's actually working. One where a local community leader can pick up the phone, call DHS and say, you know, we need support from ICE. And they come out, not with tanks, not with tear gas. Not with masks, but they come out and they make sure to take care of the problem. That's what we need from ICE. That's not what we saw in Minnesota, unfortunately. And certainly they don't need a budget that is absolutely through the roof to make that happen. And so we've got to return their funding levels to appropriate historical levels so that they can do the job that they are tasked with. Jake, you were a, if you think about just your background, you were a high school math teacher. And I'm sure people are like, what? How did this happen? How did you get here? You've never held a political office. What has the reaction been like, just to see you in this position now and up by 323 votes? Yeah, I mean, listen, there's a lot of people that are fed up with what we're seeing in DC. Politicians have forgotten us here in southern Minnesota. And so the idea that we might have a math teacher, a pragmatic problem solver, go to DC and try to solve some problems instead of make them, has really been well met by the people in southern Minnesota. At our town halls, in conversations with folks, it is clear that what's happening right now isn't working. And maybe it's time for a math teacher from southern Minnesota To give it a shot, bring some southern Minnesota math to Washington DC has been has been well well received. And we do have this recount in question, but what are your plans now? Yeah, we're going to continue to do what we've done throughout this campaign. We're going to work hard to make sure that we hit the ground running in January and we can serve the people. A big part of that is building out our team here across the district so that we have world-class constituent services that people can count on. And then really making sure that when we get to D.C., we are ready to deliver on the promises that we made in the campaign. There's a lot of people who lose faith and trust in democracy in our government when there's a set of promises made. And then people go to DC and forget what got them there. And so like I've said throughout this campaign, I'm willing to work with anyone, anyone from either party to make sure that we are tackling the cost of living, it's out of control. And so that is my focus. That is my priority is how do I go to DC and for the next two years do everything that I can. To have a government that is as good as its people, bring down costs for folks here. And that's what we're going to be working on. All right, Jake Johnson, we appreciate your time. Thank you so much for joining us. Yeah, no, thank you for having me. Really appreciate it. Of course, of course.