Former Hormel Foods CEO Jeffrey Ettinger's candidacy for the House of Representatives has come to an end. 

Ettinger, who was running as a Democrat, lost the Aug. 9 special election for Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District to Republican Brad Finstad, a former state lawmaker.

The Associated Press called the race Aug. 10, with Finstad holding a lead of 51.1% to 46.9% with 98% of precincts reporting.

Ettinger was seeking to succeed the late Rep. Jim Hagedorn, R-Minn., who died on Feb. 16 from kidney cancer.

Ettinger joined Hormel Foods in 1989  and served as Hormel’s chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer from November 2006 to October 2015. He retired from the position of CEO in 2016 and the role of chairman in 2017.

He was inducted into the Meat Industry Hall of Fame in 2017.