Good morning. Tune into the VP Debate tonight with MPR News. 5 questions to consider before the VP debate begins (NPR)
Voting by mail? For some Minnesotans, it's nothing new This year will mark the fourth time Dennis Fude will cast his vote for U.S. president on a ballot that has shown up in the mail at his home in rural Blue Earth County.
Before moving to Beauford Township 13 years ago, Fude always voted in person. But now, he said, he likes getting his ballot by mail and avoiding the hurried rush of the polling booth on Election Day.
“There's always some local officials and judges that you really don't know much about,” Fude said. “It gives us time to Google them and see what they say and where they stand on things.”
The rhetorical heat focused on voting by mail in this year's election is falling flat in some places in Minnesota where voters have been casting their ballots exclusively by mail for years, with few reported problems. -- Kirsti Marohn, MPR News
COVID-19, ethics and Trump all in the mix in 1st District rematch A scheduled debate Tuesday between Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn and DFL candidate Dan Feehan at a Rochester, Minn., TV station was canceled because the two couldn't agree on coronavirus precautions.
Hagedorn narrowly won Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District seat two years ago, and this year's campaign is a rematch. The two disagree on most all of the issues — and even on how they should be campaigning during the pandemic.
Unlike many candidates, Hagedorn and his team are reaching out to potential supporters face-to-face despite the pandemic, while Feehan is using virtual meetings and phone outreach.
Hagedorn flew on Air Force One and attended a rally with President Donald Trump last week before the president announced he had contracted COVID-19. Hagedorn said he had a test Friday and another one Monday that both came back negative.
In recent weeks allegations of ethics violations have overshadowed the policy debate in the campaign. The allegations involve Hagedorn’s congressional office spending on printing contracts for mailings to constituents. The office spent a lot of taxpayer money on contracts with a company associated with a Hagedorn congressional staffer. Hagedorn insists he did nothing wrong. More on the 1st District campaign from MPR News' Mark Zdechlik
NPR: Still undergoing COVID-19 treatment, Trump claims he'll be ready to debate next week
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