A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 62, which includes portions of south Minneapolis in Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

[1] He worked as a staff aide to Minneapolis City Council member Gary Schiff from 2001-2002.

[2] Hayden was first elected in 2008, opting to run after incumbent Rep. Neva Walker decided not to seek re-election.

[3] On July 25, 2011, Hayden announced that he would run in the October 18, 2011, special election[4] to fill the state senate seat that was vacated by Senator Linda Berglin, who resigned on August 15, 2011, to take a new job with Hennepin County as a health policy program manager.

[8][9] In October 2015, a court-sanctioned investigation found Hayden, and his wife Theresa received at least $3,486 in improper reimbursements from a now-defunct nonprofit organization, Community Action of Minneapolis.