| The one and only head-to-head U.S. Senate debate demonstrated the sharp contrast between Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Republican challenger Royce White. The hourlong matchup on WCCO Radio was mostly tame — aside from a couple NSFW terms. Klobuchar and White, a former professional basketball player and podcast provocateur, offered sharply different views of the U.S. role on the world stage, management of the economy and the need for politicians of different parties to work together or stand in the way of each other. Klobuchar is seeking a fourth term; White is making his second run for office after trying unsuccessfully to win a congressional seat two years ago. MPR’s Mark Zdechlik has this writeup, including White’s declaration: “I’m no partisan hack here. I’m no Donald Trump sycophant. I’m supporting him 1,000 percent.”
On Sunday night, Donald Trump’s massive rally at Madison Square Garden spiraled into a problem for his campaign, which scrambled to address racist remarks from one of the early speakers. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe disparaged Latinos and called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Some Republicans who have been reluctant to criticize the Trump campaign quickly condemned the joke and Trump’s team said it doesn’t reflect the former president’s views, although just last week Trump called the United States the “garbage can for the world” over its immigration policies. Other speakers also hurled insults at groups and rivals during the rally. The Harris campaign used the event to reinforce its message that another Trump term would tear at the fabric of America and be a dark four years. It is sure to dominate the early part of the final campaign week.
The final week will bring a battleground blitz for the presidential campaigns. Trump is due this week in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, among other stops. He’s also got a drop-in planned this week for Virginia, a state his campaign believes it has an outside shot at winning. Minnesota fits into the reach list for the Trump campaign and GOP officials aren’t ruling out a late stop by him. Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, the Ohio senator, is slated to be in Michigan, Wisconsin and certainly other places. Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is preparing for stops in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin, as well as a big speech Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Gov. Tim Walz is in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina this week.
One of the story lines in the closing part of this campaign is the massive amount of time and money that Elon Musk is spending to promote Trump’s campaign. The technology company executive who owns one of the most important social media platforms is going all in. There are legitimate questions about what Musk might get out of a second Trump administration given that his tech and space exploration companies are also federal vendors. As Musk, who has personally dropped $120 million into the race, makes an anti-immigration case, the Washington Post reported on his arrival in America and the work he did while in his own immigration gray area. Musk, naturally, used his X account to push back on the report.
A 67-67 tie is not out of the realm of possibilities as the tussle for control of the Minnesota House plays out. House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth says it’s an outcome getting internal GOP attention and DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman gamed out some of the scenarios in a tied chamber as well. Both were on Politics Friday last week for a joint appearance that got hot at times. All 134 House seats are at stake on Nov. 5, but there are really only about a dozen or so truly contested races. The Politics Friday episode also delved into the 8th Congressional District rematch between Republican Rep. Pete Stauber and DFL challenger Jen Schultz. Find it here.
The political trend lines on the Iron Range have been the story of the last few cycles as a part of the state once solidly DFL has grown increasingly redder. The Star Tribune takes another tour through the region and reports that Republicans are likely to tighten their political grip on the area in November’s election. This commentary piece from Iron Ranger Aaron Brown published in Sunday’s paper is also a good primer on the shifting terrain up north and how it’s more complex than just which candidates in which jerseys are prevailing.
Voters in North Dakota will decide the future of property taxes in the state — or at least put state lawmakers on the spot for finding a replacement system. A ballot measure would effectively undo property taxes based on assessed value. It could force lawmakers to institute other revenue options or cut services. A similar measure failed about a decade ago, but both sides of the debate expect this vote to be closer. | 
