Jim Hagedorn, son of former Rep. Tom Hagedorn, R-Minn., will formally announce this afternoon that he will challenge four-term Democratic Rep. Tim Walz this cycle.

Hagedorn, a former staffer to then-Rep. Arlan Stangeland, R-Minn., lost a bid for the 1st District in a Republican primary in 2010.

Republicans say the 1st District should be competitive; President Barack Obama carried the 1st District by a slim 1-point margin in 2012 and a 2-point margin in 2008.

However, Walz has run far ahead of the Democratic presidential candidates in the district, beating his Republican opponent by a 15-point margin in 2012.

Minnesota’s 1st District is rated a Safe Democratic contest by Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.