GOP state Rep. Jeremy Munson led in all seven rounds of voting but didn’t break the threshold to win the endorsement. (Antranik Tavitian, Star Tribune file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Local Republican delegates in southern Minnesota failed to endorse anyone from a crowded field of congressional hopefuls over the weekend.

Several candidates are vying to fill the final months of the late GOP U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn current term as a May 24 special primary and an Aug. 9 election approach.

But the endorsement that was debated for hours during the First District Republican convention wouldn't have applied to that race. Instead, the endorsement was focused on the regular midterm election for the seat that will decide who represents the redrawn district for a full two-year term starting next year.

Winning Saturday's endorsement could have provided a boost in the special primary race as a range of candidates try to break away from the rest of the field.

"I think the people of the First District are paying attention to the race and looking at the candidates, doing their research, and I think they're going to make an informed decision on May 24," said Aaron Farris, chair of the First Congressional District Republicans.

State Rep. Jeremy Munson led all seven rounds of voting as the convention stretched past midnight but was unable to gather enough support to win the coveted endorsement.

The latest round of campaign finance reports showed that more than $1 million already has gone into DFL and GOP campaigns for the seat. That includes a $200,000 loan that Munson made to his campaign. But records show that, when excluding loans, Republican Matt Benda, an Albert Lea attorney, had the strongest fundraising quarter in the field through the end of March.

Munson tweeted Saturday that GOP U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has endorsed his campaign and earlier announced the support of Republican U.S. Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

Brad Finstad, a former U.S. Agriculture Department official, has the backing of other prominent Republicans, including Minnesota U.S. Reps. Pete Stauber and Michelle Fischbach. Munson and Finstad were the only candidates who made it to at least the fifth ballot during Saturday's convention.

Hagedorn's widow, Jennifer Carnahan, also is running for the seat less than a year after she resigned under pressure as Minnesota Republican Party chair, partly over her ties to a party fundraiser who was indicted on child sex trafficking charges."

On the DFL side, former Hormel Foods CEO Jeff Ettinger is running for the First District seat, along with Richard Painter, an ethics lawyer who served in President George W. Bush's administration, and former political consultant Sarah Brakebill-Hacke.