Brad Finstad
Brad Howard Finstad (born May 30, 1976) is an American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for the 21B district from 2003 to 2009. After leaving the house, he served as a USDA Rural Development official during the Trump administration. Early life and education. Finstad is a native of New Ulm, Minnesota. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural education from the University of Minnesota. Career. After graduating from college, Finstad joined the human resources of Christansen Family Farms in Brown County, Minnesota. He later worked briefly as an area  director for the Minnesota Farm Bureau before joining the staff of Congressman Mark Kennedy, serving as an agricultural advisor. He was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in November 2002 and assumed office in 2003. During his final term in the legislature, he served as assistant minority leader. He left the House in 2008. From 2008 to 2017, he worked as the CEO of the Center for Rural Policy and Development, a non-profit policy research organization based in St. Peter, Minnesota. In November 2017, he was appointed by President Donald Trump to serve as Minnesota state director of  USDA Rural Development. After Trump left office in 2021, Finstad joined the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association as interim executive director. Finstad is a candidate for the 2022 Minnesota's 1st congressional district special election.