Politics Friday

Two hundred and one separate races will determine two very big things: control of the Minnesota House and the Minnesota Senate.

Prior elections produced the tightest margins at the Capitol in recent memory. For a time, both chambers were tied between the parties. Coming into this election, a single seat favored Democrats in the Senate and the House was all knotted up.

With a new governor coming in, the stakes are pretty high. With the majorities comes the power to set the agenda on spending, taxes and so many other policies.

MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst discusses the campaign with the caucus leaders of both parties trying to push the outcome in their direction.

The debates are in the rearview mirror in races for governor and U.S. Senate. We’ll check in with our politics reporters on what the end game looks like.

Guests:

Sen. Erin Murphy, of St. Paul, is the DFL Senate majority leader.
Sen. Mark Johnson, of East Grand Forks, is the Republican Senate minority leader.
Rep. Harry Niska, of Ramsey, is the Republican caucus leader for the Minnesota House.
Rep. Zack Stephenson, of Coon Rapids, is the DFL caucus leader for the Minnesota House.
Dana Ferguson is a political correspondent for MPR News.
Peter Cox is a senior politics reporter for MPR News.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation or subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.

A new senator will emerge from Election Day no matter what because there is no incumbent on the ballot.

The two major party candidates are here for their first — and possibly only — one-on-one debate. Friday at noon, the DFL Party’s nominee, Peggy Flanagan, and Republican nominee, Michele Tafoya, went head-to-head on the issues in a debate moderated by MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst.

Guests:

Peggy Flanagan is the state’s 50th Lieutenant Governor, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the U.S. Senate Democratic nominee.
Michele Tafoya is a former sport broadcaster and the U.S. Senate Republican nominee.

Editor’s note: Ahead of a Friday debate between U.S. Senate candidates Michele Tafoya and Peggy Flanagan hosted by MPR News, politics editor Brian Bakst asked each to talk about how their lives helped form their politics.

On this special episode of Politics Friday, we feature conversations in a series we’re calling “In Your Backyard.”

MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst recently met with U.S. Senate candidates Peggy Flanagan and Michele Tafoya at significant places to each of them for a personal conversation about their lives.

Lt. Gov. Flanagan, the Democratic nominee, invited Brian to a cultural center in a bustling Minneapolis neighborhood. Tafoya, the Republican nominee, asked to meet at a small-town ballpark.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation or subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.

Minnesota has eight members of the U.S. House and those seats don’t change hands often — but this November, one of them will for sure.

Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District has is no incumbent on the ballot. The seat has been held by U.S. Rep. Angie Craig for a little under eight years.

The open seat means a new representative in a district covering the southern metro suburbs and down into farm country. The two candidates vying for the job have spent time in the Minnesota state Senate.

MPR News host Catharine Richert moderates a debate between Matt Little, a Democrat, and Eric Pratt, a Republican.

Minnesota 2nd Congressional District Debate: Eric Pratt vs. Matt Little | Full Debate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irWtUlUadqE

Later, MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst and the politics team will provide analysis of the debate and the latest from Minnesota’s campaign trail.

Guests:

Eric Pratt is a Republican state senator of Prior Lake and a candidate for Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District.
Matt Little is a former DFL state senator, a past mayor of Lakeville and a candidate for Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District.
Laura McCallum is an editor for MPR News.
Peter Cox is a senior politics reporter for MPR News.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation or subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.

Two candidates vying to be Minnesota’s attorney general met Friday in their first debate.

DFL incumbent Keith Ellison, who is after a third term, and Republican Ron Schutz, an attorney, went head-to-head over issues defining their intense and increasingly expensive race.

Republicans last won a Minnesota attorney general’s race in 1966, although Ellison won by small margins in his past two elections.

On this special edition of Politics Friday, MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst moderated the Minnesota attorney general debate.

Guests:

Keith Ellison is a DFLer and a two-term attorney general.
Ron Schutz is a Twin Cities attorney who is prominent in GOP circles.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation or subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.