Congressional candidates Angie Craig and Tyler Kistner tried to define each other in their only debate

Dave Orrick, Pioneer Press
Updated ·5 min read
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In Minnesota’s most hotly contested congressional district where moderates might swing the election, both Angie Craig and Tyler Kistner are too extreme — according to each other.

On Thursday, the two candidates squared off in their only debate in Minnesota’s 2nd District, which encompasses much of the south metro.

The contest is a rematch of 2020, when Craig, a Democrat first elected in 2018, defeated Kistner, the Republican challenger. The race is drawing national attention because it’s widely seen as a toss-up. The seat has swung back and forth from parties over the years and Craig, while the incumbent, faces the same headwinds other Democrats are facing in next month’s elections amid high inflation and President Joe Biden’s sagging approval.

Thursday’s debate played out much as the campaign has, with each candidate trying to frame their opponent as extreme — while both sought to cast themselves in relatively moderate hues on issues ranging from abortion to crime.

ECONOMY A TOP ISSUE

Both Kistner and Craig agree that the economy — and inflation in particular — is the top issue for voters.

Consistent with a national Republican strategy, Kistner has repeatedly sought to lay blame for the economy on Craig by tying her to Biden via “the disastrous policies of Joe Biden, Angie Craig and Democrats.”

At one point Thursday, he even pivoted from a question about whether he accepted Biden’s 2020 victory by framing it around the economy.

“There’s no way of denying it, look at gas prices,” Kistner said at the debate, hosted by the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce and held at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount. “Look at inflation. You definitely know he’s the president. I think Joe Biden won the 2020 election just going off what the last two years have been.”

Craig’s view of the economic challenges was more nuanced. She noted, for example, that the national unemployment rate of 3.5 percent is the lowest in a half century.

She said inflation is a “serious global issue” and “disrupted supply chains from a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic have caused inflation,” she said.

She sought to parry Kistner’s criticism of massive federal spending plans approved by Congress by asking of the audience, “What of that spending … would you not have done?” before ticking off several bipartisan pandemic spending plans that sought to shore up local businesses.

CRAIG ‘PUSHES BACK’ ON BIDEN

But Kisnter’s attempts to link Craig to Biden, as well as her more-liberal Democratic colleagues, are clearly a concern for Craig. At several times she emphasized, she has “pushed back” on her fellow House members, as well as Biden himself.

For example, on Thursday, she offered her strongest criticism yet of Biden’s decision to cancel college-loan debt for tens of millions of Americans, without congressional approval.

“I have a lot of questions for the president,” said Craig. “Can a president spend $400 million without congressional authority or approval, and I would have to say that I don’t agree in principle that that should be the case.”

Speaking to reporters after the event, Craig restated her most vigorous attempt to distance herself from Biden: She doesn’t want him on the ballot in the 2024 election, but would rather see “new leadership.”

KISTNER ON ABORTION OPPOSITION

Since the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade — concluding there is no federal constitutional right to an abortion — Craig and outside groups supporting her have relentlessly attacked Kistner’s anti-abortion stances, which have included being on the board of a group that opposes abortions. It’s a strategy that Democrats have employed in campaign after campaign across the nation.

After the Dobbs decision, Kistner refused to clarify his position, and a section of his website discussing his “100% pro-life” views was no longer visible.

Craig has accused Kistner of opposing abortion in all cases, with no exceptions — but Kistner has denied that, and on Thursday, when questioned by reporters, Craig failed to provide evidence to support that specific claim.

Nonetheless, Kistner has repeatedly tried to downplay the potential importance of abortion rights in the campaign. Kistner’s current state position on abortion is that he favors exceptions for rape or incest, but he has refused to entertain how he might act on the issue if he were elected to Congress.

On Thursday, for example, he refused to say whether he would support a federal 15-week abortion ban proposed by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., saying he hadn’t seen the specific language.

DUELING POLICE ENDORSEMENTS

While the topic of public safety didn’t surface at Thursday’s hourlong debate, the issue figures prominently in this campaign as it has in many across the state and nation: Amid historically high rates of violent crime following riots that followed the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Republicans have sought to cast Democrats as anti-police, while Democrats have struggled to provide a clear vision that would include reducing crime while also increasing accountability for police.

Kistner has accused Craig of supporting the “defund the police” movement — even though Craig has consistently opposed such efforts.

Last month, Craig scored a coup by gaining the endorsement of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, which represents some 10,400 public safety workers. The group had endorsed Kistner in 2020, but in its endorsement, the MPPOA cited a number of initiatives Craig had supported that were also supported by law enforcements groups.

However, this week, Kistner garnered the endorsement of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, the union that represents Minneapolis cops.

Election Day is Nov. 8.

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