Good morning and happy Halloween. The election is now just eight days away.

Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Scott Jensen debated for the third and final time Friday,  and it was pretty apparent from the get go there’s no love lost between the two. A few seconds into his opening, Walz went after Jensen accusing him of always looking for the negative. “Scott’s vision is a dark and fearful vision of Minnesota,” Walz said, “and it’s not the vision Minnesotans have.” Jensen responded, “I became a family doctor because I wanted to help people. I'm running for governor because Tim Walz hurt people. In his inaugural address, he said that he would unite people, he would unite Minnesota. His slogan was one Minnesota. That's a sham. Tim Walz failed, Minnesota is broken.” They talked about taxes, education, crime, Feeding Our Future, COVID-19  and abortion. Find the whole debate here. 

On the heels of the debate Republicans and Democrats looked to shore up their base of support and turn out their voters.The Star Tribune reported:  DFLers worked their election ground game in the Twin Cities with an appeal to abortion rights supporters Saturday, while Republicans went airborne with gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen delivering his "Heal Minnesota" message at stops from Hibbing to Rochester. Candidates from both parties worked their geographic and ideological power zones, playing up core issues to their most faithful voters as the campaign season neared its end. Republicans are more popular in greater Minnesota while DFLers dominate in the Twin Cities, so while Jensen was on his multicity tour, Gov. Tim Walz was rallying voters in Minneapolis and St. Paul. 

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds will campaign for Jensen tonight in Golden Valley. 

Headed into the final week, inflation is still a top issue.As MPR’s Mark Zdechlik reports voters are likely to blame the president: Steven Schier, political science professor emeritus at Carleton College said no one can escape inflation, which makes it a unique political issue. “Because inflation affects everybody, it affects them daily, and therefore it automatically becomes a top issue,” Schier said. “And if it continues, people blame the government, and that helps Republicans right now.” And Republicans are trying to capitalize on voter discontent about the cost of living. TV ads and political mail pieces blame President Joe Biden and Democrats for high grocery prices and what many Republicans claim is excessive government spending. “I believe we're at a time where we'll all want to cast blame,” said University of Minnesota economist Mark Bergen, who studies inflation and calls it a “fatigue multiplier,” which he says has added to the stress of the pandemic and international tensions. 

MinnPost reportson the day House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked by an intruder in the couple’s home, a right-wing news site ran a story criticizing U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s hiring of private security in response to what the lawmaker has characterized as death threats.  Omar has received special Capitol Police protection at times due to concerns about threats against the progressive lawmaker who has become a lightning rod for the right. Omar has also hired private security when she’s in her Twin Cities-based district. The Daily Caller, a right-wing news and opinion website Fox News host Tucker Carlson founded but sold in 2020, criticized Omar for spending from her campaign fund what Federal Elections Commission records show is more than $27,000 for security in August and September.  

And Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer was questioned on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday about a tweet he sent out featuring a video of him firing a rifle that features #firePelosi. Emmer deflected the question by bringing up the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise a few years ago. When host Margaret Brennan  questioned why Emmer wouldn’t delete the tweet he changed the subject, “I'm sure people like to talk about anything but what the Democrats have done to this country, which quite frankly is exploding cost of living, a crime wave in our major cities that is the result of this 'defund the police' nonsense and cashless bail.”