Senate GOP leader joins Tafoya on farm as Flanagan highlights cost, war concerns

Overshadowed by U.S. Senate races elsewhere, Minnesota’s contest for a seat now held by a Democrat attracted a big-name Republican visitor on Monday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota ventured into southern Minnesota to campaign with Republican nominee Michele Tafoya. The two visited a farm in Le Sueur and made the case that the former sports broadcaster should succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith.

Thune called Minnesota “a very unique race” where Republicans are taking on a “flawed candidate.” He didn’t indicate whether party money is going to start to flow in with just four weeks to go but seemed to invite it.

“There's a lot of really positive buzz around the country, and obviously translating that into into financial resources and support coming here is something we hope to see happen,” he said.

The pair held a private roundtable with some farmers and farm group leaders. They then stood in front of a giant farm implement to talk about what they want in the next farm bill.

Year-round E15 is one of them. That's an ethanol blend. Tafoya says she'd be a vote for that in the Senate if a farm bill doesn't pass before next year.

“I'm not a farmer, but I care about this farm community very, very much, and it's important to Minnesota, and therefore it's important to me,” she said.

Thune said the blend could lead to savings at the pump.

“If you want to see fuel costs go down, create more supply of fuel, and we can do that with E15,” he said.

Meanwhile, Democratic nominee Peggy Flanagan applied more pressure on Tafoya to break from President Donald Trump on the war with Iran. Flanagan, the state’s two-term lieutenant governor, appeared in Brooklyn Park after a weekend campaign trip through west-central Minnesota.

“Minnesota cannot afford to send Donald Trump another loyal soldier,” Flanagan said outside of a gas station where a gallon of unleaded gas went for $4.39 and diesel was $6.39. “We know exactly what Michele Tafoya is. She is a MAGA Republican who is lockstep with Donald Trump on literally everything.”

Flanagan is on a 30-stop-in-30-days swing she’s labeled the “Got Your Back” tour.

Despite being a rare open-seat race, Minnesota has not been very high on the national map for either party. Since the primary, relatively little outside money has flowed in. That stands in contrast to the tens of millions of dollars deployed to battleground Michigan, Ohio and Iowa in the region. Even Kansas has risen on the radar, with Republicans now spending heavily to protect an incumbent.

Thune and Tafoya insist Minnesota will break late in her direction as she drives a message that Flanagan has been weak on fighting fraud.

“She is just a high-quality, high-quality candidate,” Thune said of Tafoya. ”The voters of Minnesota are just really fortunate to have somebody like her to vote for, and I hope they'll get out in droves."

Tafoya added on that Minnesota is a race worth investing in. “We are right there and we have a message of fresh leadership,” she said, calling the Thune visit a “signal to the state and really to the country that this is a race that is national and people are watching.”

She followed the press conference with an appearance on Fox News.

State and national polls show the economy and inflation are the top motivators for voters in this midterm election, with fraud and healthcare also high on the list.

Flanagan has also worked to tap into frustration over immigration enforcement in Minnesota after the winter surge of agents that fueled tensions and resistance efforts.

She appeared Sunday outside a private prison in Appleton that is being converted to a federal detention center. Flanagan said she doesn’t want Democrats to take greater Minnesota for granted even though Republicans tend to run up the score in rural communities.

“I think folks understand that Donald Trump is really at the center of why gas prices are high and why it is becoming more and more expensive for them to simply live their lives when they are doing everything right, and that is what this election is all about,” she told MPR News on Sunday.

She said trade tariffs and escalated diesel prices due to the war are making the fall harvest more expensive and causing hits to rural communities.

Flanagan and her allies deployed many millions to land the Democratic nomination over U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, who, along with outside groups, spent even more in a losing effort.

Tafoya vaulted past the GOP-endorsed candidate, Adam Schwarze, in her party’s primary. Tafoya had support from leading Senate Republicans.

But since the nominations were decided in August, the race has been comparatively quiet. Republicans are clinging to a slim Senate majority and on defense across the country.

Minnesota last elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 2002.

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