Klobuchar, Demuth tangle over what they’ve done in politics, what they would do as governor

A lively showdown in Minnesota’s history-making race for governor put the nominees’ records and future plans for the state in sharp focus Wednesday night, giving voters a clear contrast between DFLer Amy Klobuchar and Republican Lisa Demuth.

It was likely the final time the candidates will debate in a race that has drawn tens of millions of dollars in advertising.

The leaders — either of whom would be Minnesota’s first woman as chief executive — tried to link the other to unpopular figures in their party.

For Klobuchar, it meant repeatedly associating Demuth with President Donald Trump.

“It is very clear that we need a governor who is not a rubber stamp of Donald Trump, and we need a governor that's going to focus on you and not just do the bidding of a billionaire from Wisconsin that's paid for 80% of her ads,” Klobuchar said, referring to a manufacturing mogul’s large contributions to a pro-Demuth group.

For Demuth, the goal was to paint Klobuchar as a continuation of Gov. Tim Walz.

“What we haven't heard from Senator Klobuchar is how she has separated herself from Tim Walz,” Demuth said. “She never has once come up with a policy that she disagrees with Tim Walz on.”

Both rebutted the other’s portrayal. Klobuchar said she would have tackled the state’s fraud problem sooner and would have divided up a prior budget surplus differently. Demuth said she has parted with Trump over tariffs and decisions around beef imports.

That, too, drew a sharp response from Klobuchar.

“To quote an old, old story from Walter Mondale. ‘Where's the beef?’ I care about beef too. But when you look at what's happening to people in Minnesota with their health care, when you look at what's happening to people right now with their tariffs, that's the best you can come up with?” Klobuchar said. “I really can’t believe it.”

Demuth said Democrats couldn’t be trusted to fix the fraud the current administration allowed to fester. She said she would demand jail time and other sanctions against people caught stealing public funds.

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” she said. “And Minnesota has been fooled too many times by the inadequate leadership here in the state of Minnesota.”

And so it went for a full hour in the debate, hosted by Fox 9 and Gray Media. The questions from moderators covered many topics, including taxes, healthcare, cancer treatment, gang violence and mining.

Klobuchar often mentioned bills she’s worked on in Washington around healthcare access and agriculture. Demuth cited her role as a legislator, including two years as House speaker, to address issues of childcare and doctor training. Both described themselves as accustomed to working in bipartisan fashion.

While the debate format constrained many follow-up questions, the candidates returned to topics to add on or inserted new topics to get more points across.

Some points of discussion included:

Abortion:

• Klobuchar said she supports reproductive healthcare for women: “I am on their side and support their right to make a decision with their family and their doctor. My opponent wrote the bill, authored the bill to ban abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest, and what's worse, to send doctors to jail.”

• After the debate, Demuth said abortion is settled law: “I think Senator Klobuchar is looking for things that she can try to drive a wedge in, but it is settled law here in the state of Minnesota. Now that bill that I had never went any place at all.” She noted a 1990s court ruling that protects abortion access.

Gas prices:

• Klobuchar said the fastest way to bring down gas prices is to stop the war in Iran. "That is it, beginning, middle, and end. And when you look at what my opponent brings up, when we had a debate earlier this week, she actually brought up and blamed it on the Keystone Pipeline." Klobuchar said she has voted for measures to end the war, but those probably wouldn’t have a binding effect on Trump.

• Demuth said Klobuchar voted against the pipeline, which would have increased oil supply. She also cited cost pressures from programs enacted when DFLers had full Capitol control. "When we look at gas prices and the overall cost of things here in Minnesota, it is because Democrats in the state of Minnesota have exploded our budget." She said she would remove an automatic inflation measure to the gas tax. That indexing increases the per-gallon cost by less than one cent per year to help with road construction funding.

Mining:

• Demuth said she would rescind Walz's executive order on mining aimed at blocking copper nickel mining near the Boundary Waters: "We can look at mining safely here in the state of Minnesota, safer than any place else in the country."

• Klobuchar said she'd give the order a fresh look but noted she has voted to protect the Boundary Waters. "And my votes in Washington show that when there was an unprecedented maneuver to try to hurt not just the Boundary Waters but all public land."

Gun measures:

• Klobuchar: “She had a family in their living room, the Moyskis, the little Harper Moyski, that was killed when the bullets ran through the stained glass windows at Annunciation Church. She told them she would give a vote for the gun safety package. Allow for a vote, no matter how she voted on it. And she did not. She lied to them in their own dining room.”

• Demuth: “I'm a mom of four kids that were in the community, the Rocori community, when we experienced gun violence and tragedy in our own school. What we were talking about then was the need for mental health supports, called bullying when that happened. And I have done that. When I had the honor of meeting with the families that were highly impacted by the tragedy at Annunciation, I gave them my word. I would not lie to them, but I said bills will be introduced, they will go through the process, and they will be voted on.” The bills died in tie votes in committee and efforts to secure an up-or-down House vote failed.

Cancer treatment:

• Both candidates are breast cancer survivors, which came up multiple times in the debate. They each said they would work to improve screening and post-cancer evaluations for patients.

• “It is important for people to realize that sometimes we can have things in common even when we differ politically,” Demuth said about their shared health situation.

• “I know that the speaker's done some work in this area, and I will be very excited to work with her on everything from breast cancer screenings to making sure that we find a cure when it comes to cancer,” Klobuchar said. “And I appreciate her work on it.”

Making history:

• Klobuchar: “I don’t do it because I want to be the first woman. I do it because I want to get results for all of you.”

• Demuth: “I look forward to serving — if given the opportunity, your trust in me — as the first female governor here in the state of Minnesota and the first Black woman to serve as governor of any state in the United States.”

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