WASHINGTON – The fired chief of staff for Congressman Jim Hagedorn, Peter SU, said he did not personally benefit from a contract to a company owned by his brother. Hagedorn has distanced himself from Su and the contract, which is at the core of a scandal that threatens Hagedorn’s re-election campaign. He also fired Su. In a statement to the Minneapolis Star Tribune Su said: “It’s a shame that some politicians and their fixers will say and do anything just to win re-election.” Su also said: “I acted in good faith at all times and did not personally profit or intend to bypass any established office procedures or potentially or technically violate any rule of the House. I never benefited, either directly or indirectly, from Jim Hagedorn’s mailer program.”
A second-term?
Hagedorn, a Republican first elected in 2018, is in a tough race with DFL candidate Dan Feehan in the congressional district that covers southern Minnesota from the Wisconsin to South Dakota border. His spending on franking has become the subject of criticism by Feehan and DFL leaders, following reports that his office had spent a bulk of its total yearly budget by the end of March, much more than any other member of the House — most of it on constituent mail.