Politics Friday

On Fridays, MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst discusses Minnesota politics — the latest from the legislature, election news and more. Join us Fridays at noon for interviews with lawmakers, candidates and political experts, including the MPR News politics reporting team.

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October 9, 2020 3:45 PM

MPR News congressional debates in the 6th and 2nd Districts

What’s being done to confront the coronavirus and stem the economic fallout from the pandemic are central to this year’s election campaigns. That was clear when the candidates in Minnesota’s 2nd and 6th Congressional Districts met in separate MPR News debates Friday.

by Mike Mulcahy and Brian Bakst

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October 2, 2020 11:05 AM

U.S. Senate debate: Candidates disagree on COVID-19, other issues

Sen. Tina Smith and her Republican challenger Jason Lewis sparred over the coronavirus response, public safety, climate change and immigration Friday during a debate on MPR News.

by MPR News Staff, Mike Mulcahy and Mark Zdechlik

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September 25, 2020 1:00 AM

Minnesota legislative leaders highlight their party's values and issues

On Politics Friday, host Mike Mulcahy speaks with the legislative leaders of both parties about the major issues in the State Senate and House of Representatives races.

by Mike Mulcahy

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September 18, 2020 12:13 PM

MN Secretary of State Steve Simon answers your voting questions

Secretary of State Steve Simon, Minnesota’s top elections official, is Mike Mulcahy’s guest on Politics Friday to answer questions about all aspects of our voting and elections system.

by Mike Mulcahy, MPR News Staff and Darian Leddy

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September 10, 2020 4:45 PM

Gov. Tim Walz on COVID-19, emergency power, Floyd's killing and more

Six months after Gov. Tim Walz first declared the peacetime emergency, where is Minnesota in the response to the pandemic and what will the next few months bring? On this week’s Politics Friday, MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talked with Walz, discussing some of the pressing issues in Minnesota and taking listener questions from around the state.

by Mike Mulcahy

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August 7, 2020 4:46 PM

Politics Friday: Primary preview special

MPR News political editor Mike Mulcahy looks ahead to Tuesday’s primary election in Minnesota. He’ll discuss the races to watch and how politics and voting has changed during the pandemic.

by Mike Mulcahy and Jeff Jones

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April 3, 2020 4:04 PM

Politics Friday: Reps. Phillips and Stauber on federal coronavirus aid

To get the view from Washington on COVID-19, MPR News political editor Mike Mulcahy talks with two Minnesota members of Congress.

by Mike Mulcahy and Katie Moritz

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March 27, 2020 12:05 PM

MN health commissioner: 'This is going to unfold over a year or 18 months'

At the center of Minnesota’s response to the health crisis is MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm, who has been a regular at Gov. Tim Walz’s daily updates on the state of Minnesota’s health this week. She answered questions from Politics Friday host Mike Mulcahy and MPR News listeners about what we might expect from the rapidly changing situation.

by Mike Mulcahy and Katie Moritz

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March 20, 2020 3:06 PM

Politics Friday: Sen. Tina Smith talks federal response to coronavirus

How are the U.S. House and Senate working together to provide relief to worried and financially vulnerable Americans? Minnesota U.S. Sen. Tina Smith talked about how things are going on Capitol Hill and what we might expect in the way of COVID-19 response in the coming weeks.

by Mike Mulcahy and Katie Moritz

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March 6, 2020 2:00 PM

Politics Friday: Biden, Sanders campaigns reflect on Super Tuesday results

The Democratic primary is now down to two – white men in their late 70s. On this edition of Politics Friday with host Mike Mulcahy, we cap off a newsy week as more Democratic presidential candidates drop out of the race leaving Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden.

by Mike Mulcahy and Karen Zamora

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