MPR News Capitol View
By Mike Mulcahy

Good morning, and welcome to the first Monday of October. 


The Republican candidate for Minnesota secretary of state Kim Crockett wouldn’t say Sunday whether she would accept the results of the 2022 election and that too often incumbent DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon has been willing to trade making voting convenient for ensuring that results are accurate. MPR’s Mark Zdechlik reports Crockett’s remarks came during a debate with Simon on WCCO Radio. Simon said Minnesota’s elections are fair and people have so much confidence in them that the state routinely leads the nation in voter turnout. "I think that's kind of an odd question,” Crockett said when asked by moderator Blois Olson if she would accept the results of the election. “We aren't there yet. We're weeks out. And we'll just have to see what happens between now and the certification of the election." imon underscored his confidence in the way votes are counted. "We've got a great team system in Minnesota. Our office, the office of secretary of state has a role to play,” Simon said. “But so too do local governments. We are teammates. We have to have each other's backs and I'm in constant touch with our partners, our teammates at the county and city level to make sure that come what may, we are prepared just as we were in 2020.” 


As of Friday more than 11,000 ballots in Minnesota had been accepted for eventual counting. That represents the first week of early voting in the state. It’s a fraction of the 286,000 absentee and mail-in ballots sent out. None of the envelopes containing those ballots will be opened or counted until closer to Election Day. People have until the beginning of November to request a substitute ballot if they change their mind. Officials expect fewer people to vote early or by remote means than in 2020, when some people were hesitant to vote in person due to the pandemic.


MPR’s Dana Ferguson has a look at the race for Minnesota state auditor between DFL incumbent Julie Blaha and Republican challenger Ryan Wilson, which appears to be close: With less than six weeks to election day, Wilson went on the offensive, issuing news releases and hosting press events critiquing Blaha’s performance in office. Two of the biggest red flags, he said, are on the auditor’s response to a $250 million fraud scheme at a Minnesota nonprofit and the delayed construction on the Southwest light rail project. “I think when these big scandals happen, people need assurances that somebody's on the job. They're looking into it,” Wilson said. “It's important that we have a state auditor that's willing to speak up for Minnesotans so that when there's little headlines that come up, they don't become big headlines later.” Blaha said the messages from her competitor don’t square with the reality of what the office actually does. “It's not about, you know, creating headlines for yourself, it's not about drama, it's not about trying to be another role,” Blaha said. “It's  about helping this incredibly precious place in the government that is local. Even when everything else gets divided, when everything else gets bogged down, local government still works.” 


Jessie Van Berkel at the Star Tribune had a profile of the Republican nominee for governor, Scott Jensen:   Jensen's outspoken distrust of pandemic death counts and opposition to COVID restrictions made him a Fox News regular, prompted him to write a book and raised his political ambitions. Now Jensen is bringing his message to the mainstream as he tries to thread together a broad enough coalition to knock off a DFL incumbent. Jensen, who lags Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in cash and recent polls, is pinning his hopes to become the first Republican to win statewide office in 16 years on a simple plan. "Send a message out that touches people and has an authenticity and a transparency about it," he said, sitting at the cluttered clinic desk where he regularly records Facebook, YouTube and TikTok videos. 


Former Gov. Arne Carlson is among the Minnesotans with property in Florida hit by Hurricane Ian, MPR’s Kirsti Marohn reported. Carlson and his wife, Susan, were in Minnesota last week, but spend winters at their home on Charlotte Harbor in Punta Gorda. He said neighbors have told him the property sustained damage, including part of the roof torn off. "The wind was so hard with the rain, that it pushed the water into the flooring area of the living room,” Carlson said. So a lot of floors have been destroyed, including ours. But we came off fairly fortunate compared to so many others who had serious storm surge and still have water and it's going to be a long, long time in recovery.”, Susan Carlson went to Florida to assess the damage. The former governor estimated it will take two years to rebuild, given the extensive damage in Florida and a shortage of labor.  


The Supreme Court begins its new term today.NPR reports: It may be hard to beat last term's sustained and dramatic turn to the right, which included most prominently the overturning of a half century of precedents that had guaranteed women the right to terminate most pregnancies. But the court may well rock the boat again, despite the fact that it finds its approval ratings plummeting to historic lows. Affirmative action, voting rights, civil rights and elections are all on the agenda. 


Ask MPR News: What are your questions about the upcoming election in Minnesota?
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