DFL candidates U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and GOP hopefuls Michele Tafoya and Royce White shared the stage at Farmfest. The forum focused on agricultural issues from trade wars to helping families pass farms to the next generation to immigration.
The event did not include GOP-endorsed Senate candidate Adam Schwarze, who despite the party backing, did not meet the minimum polling numbers needed to get an invite.
For Craig, it seemed like a bit of a home field advantage on a subject matter she spends a lot of time thinking about in Congress.
"I ran for ranking member of the House Ag Committee because I wanted to fight for every single one of you in farm country and in rural communities,” she told the crowd.
She said agriculture has not gotten the right support.
"We are in a spiral right now of ad hoc assistance in the farm economy. What we need is good farm policy, not ad hoc assistance,” she said.
This was the first public forum or debate for Michele Tafoya, a former sports broadcaster running her first campaign for public office.
She hammered on fraud in Minnesota, saying the state's lack of oversight made taxpayers weary. Tafoya praised farmers and touted President Donald Trump's trade deals and tariffs.
"In the short term, that causes disruptions, and that stinks. So there should be short-term bridge assistance to farmers to get through those disruptions. I'm all about that. I'm in favor of that,” she said. “But in the long term, we need to focus on what works for all of you in the long term, and that is trade agreements all over the world."
Flanagan had a much different read.
"We see these tariffs coming through. The instability is untenable for so many folks. We see the high cost right of spring planting season was up by $100 million,” she said. “This is a moment in time where we absolutely can demand better."
It was also notable how little Craig and Flanagan took aim at each other, after sparring for much of the DFL primary race.
In fact, they agreed more than they disagreed.
Asked about how they might solve agricultural workforce issues, both had similar answers, saying it's clear immigrant labor is needed for the agricultural economy.
"If somebody has been here, obeyed the law, worked on our family farms, we've got to give them a path to legal status in this country,” Craig said.
Flanagan agreed, saying the country can both secure the borders and "a pathway to citizenship for folks who have been here, who are law-abiding citizens or law-abiding folks who have been part of Minnesota."
On that topic, there was clear disagreement with Republicans.
Tafoya acknowledged the need for some immigrant labor, but she wants it on a temporary basis.
"I am not for amnesty, but I am for the Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act. I am for making conservative improvements to the H-2A law, H-2A visa, so that workers can be here for a period of time and then go back and then re-up that authorization,” she said.
Royce White took a more hardline stance.
“A pathway for people who came into this country illegally to citizenship is amnesty. Okay, if you don't have a border, you don't have a country,” White said, before adding "Mass deportations! Mass deportations!"
White, who was the GOP nominee for Senate in 2024, seemed to try to bait the other candidates, but they simply ignored him. He also took aim at Democrats in the crowd, calling them “commiecrats.”
Missing from the table was Adam Schwarze, not because he didn't want to attend, but because he did not meet the polling threshold needed to be invited.
"This was going to be the one time where we're all going to share a stage, and again, it just really disenfranchises the voters,” he said.
Each campaign is now kicking into high gear as they push toward the Tuesday primary.
MPR News political correspondent Dana Ferguson contributed reporting to this story from Morgan.