Good morning. It's debate night tonight. Trump and Biden meet in their first presidential debate. Join us for live coverage tonight at 8 p.m.
Key questions:
1) Can Trump avoid the sitting-president first-debate slump? Presidents up for reelection often struggle in their first debates. It happened to Barack Obama, both Bushes, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. Some recovered; some didn't.
2) Does Biden come across competently? It's no secret that Trump and his campaign have been trying to paint Biden as incompetent, over the hill and not all there. But there's tremendous risk in this approach for Trump, because he and his allies have considerably lowered the bar for Biden.
3) Can Trump and Biden control their tempers and tone? There's a high likelihood this will become a very aggressive debate with Biden trying to indict Trump's record, and who knows what Trump will pull out.
4) How does Trump defend his record? From the coronavirus pandemic and race relations to replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court and Trump's tax returns, these 90 minutes might fly by. Trump certainly has his back against the wall and needs to defend his record and expand his appeal to the middle of the electorate.
5) How does Biden respond to personal attacks? Trump needs to make Biden an unacceptable choice rather than letting this election continue to be a referendum on him. One way Trump is likely to try to do that — and pivot from his own record — is to go after Biden's son, Hunter.
6) How does the moderator control the stage? Speaking of control, there's probably no one better suited to moderate this particular debate than Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace. Wallace is incisive, a tough questioner and prepared, as evidenced by his interview with Trump in July.
Go deeper on these key questions with NPR's Dominico Montanro.
A new poll of Minnesota voters finds that a strong majority approves of the way Gov. Tim Walz is doing his job, even though his support has slipped since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Overall, 57 percent of those polled approve of the job Walz is doing. That's down from 65 percent in the last Minnesota Poll back in May. The new poll found that 36 percent disapprove, and 7 percent aren't sure. -- Tim Pugmire, MPR News
Incumbent Democratic Rep. Angie Craig sues to keep the election for the 2nd District that she represents in November.
The death of Adam Weeks, a candidate from a Legal Marijuana Now Party, threw the race in doubt last week. A state law says when a vacancy on the ballot occurs so close to the election, the contest is postponed until the following February.
But Craig argues that federal law requires that congressional elections be held in November and a postponement isn’t allowed. She said the district’s voters would be deprived representation for at least a month after the next Congress is sworn in come January.
Now to the Senate: In an interview with MPR News host Tom Crann Monday, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minnesota) said confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court “threatens to turn upside-down the lives of Minnesotans by ending the Affordable Care Act.” Smith is running against Republican Jason Lewis, who supports a Supreme Court confirmation before the election and “judges like Amy Coney Barrett who believe in protecting life, liberty and property.” Lewis is scheduled to join Crann on All Things Considered Tuesday, and both candidates will debate during Politics Friday this week.
Republicans pushed Monday for investigations and a freeze in absentee voting amid allegations of ballot fraud in Minneapolis that were lodged through videos captured by a conservative outlet known for shady tactics. -- Brian Bakst, MPR News
Election 2020 Voter Guides Where the candidates stand on key issues
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