Jake Johnson, a local math teacher and union leader, announced today that his campaign raised over $240,000 in the third quarter of 2025. Combined with his $264,000 haul in Q2, Johnson has now brought in more than half a million dollars in just two quarters, all while still teaching full-time and refusing corporate PAC money.

“Our campaign is powered by regular people, not billionaires or big corporations,” said Jake Johnson, a lifelong southern Minnesotan. “I’m honored to have this much support from working families who are already stretched thin by grocery and medical bills, but still want to help this campaign. We’re proving that a working-class candidate with a grassroots movement can stand up to the corporate money machine.”

While Rep. Brad Finstad is bankrolled by big corporations and even convicted fraudsters, Johnson has built a campaign funded by car washes with his former students, retired teachers pitching in what they can, and $6 and $7 donations from everyday Minnesotans across the district. Most of the donations to Johnson’s campaign came from in-state and were under $50.

Johnson’s strong candidacy has already earned him the rare early backing of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, the endorsement of grassroots organizations like Defeat Extremists, and support from community leaders like Beth Benike, Minnesota’s 2025 Small Business Person of the Year. Johnson has no primary challengers, and is fully focused on winning next November.

“As a father of four raising a family on a teacher’s salary, I know how expensive life has gotten,” said Jake Johnson. “Families are getting squeezed while Washington keeps giving tax breaks to their billionaire benefactors. That’s why I’m running, to stop these destructive tariffs and healthcare cuts, and to put southern Minnesota first.”

MN-01 is identified as a top target by EMILYs List and a district to watch by House Majority PAC. Four of the last six races for this seat were decided by fewer than four points, and this district was one of the five closest House races in the country in 2018. In a district with two million acres of soybeans and the Mayo Clinic as its largest employer, Finstad’s support of tariffs and healthcare cuts hit especially hard. With Johnson’s growing momentum and the community’s growing frustration with Finstad’s absence, southern Minnesota is ready for change.