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Capitol View®
Mike Mulcahy

Daily Digest: Senate candidates meet face to face

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Good morning, and welcome to the last Friday before Election Day. There's a lot going on, so let's check the Digest.

1. Smith and Housley debate for the first time in the general election campaign. In their first debate, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and GOP state Sen. Karin Housley on Thursday clashed over issues ranging from health care and immigration to the nation’s partisan divide.  Asked how she would make health care more affordable, Housley said Smith supports single-payer, government-run coverage and that her time living in Canada proved to her that it wouldn’t work. Competition is essential, she said. Smith said she already has proposed legislation to crack down on drug companies that pay makers of generic versions to keep them off the market. She also proposed allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices. To expand rural coverage, she suggested training doctors and nurses to work in those areas and expanding telemedicine. In response, Housley spoke directly to Smith, noting that the senator has had almost a year to tackle the problem. “There’s a lot of talk, talk, talk and nothing’s getting done,” she said. (Star Tribune) The two will debate again Sunday afternoon at 5. Listen then on MPR News.

2. Poll shows Walz with lead in governor's race.  Democrat Tim Walz maintains an eight-point lead over Republican Jeff Johnson in the race for governor, according to a new KSTP/SurveyUSA poll. In the poll of 600 "likely voters," Walz leads Johnson 49 percent to 41 percent, with 9 percent still undecided and 2 percent favoring other candidates. The poll was conducted between Oct. 29 and Oct. 31. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.3 percentage points. (KSTP-TV)

3. The same poll shows Ellison with an advantage over Wardlow. Neither campaign is holding back any punches in the final days of the race for Minnesota attorney general. It's a battle that is being waged on the airwaves and in digital ads between DFL candidate Keith Elllison and Republican candidate Doug Wardlow. And the latest KSTP/SurveyUSA poll shows Ellison has gained a four-point lead over Wardlow - 44 percent to 40 percent - with 12 percent undecided, and 4 percent indicating they’ll vote for someone else. (KSTP-TV)

4.  DNR gives green light to PolyMet Mining project. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said Thursday it has issued permits for PolyMet Mining's proposed copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota, a huge step forward for the controversial project. The DNR has issued the permit to mine, six water appropriation permits, two dam safety permits, a public waters work permit, and an endangered species takings permit, the agency said in a statement. The project will still need water and air quality permits from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and a wetlands permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. It will also need additional local permits and approvals. Still, the DNR's decision to issue permits makes it that much more likely the project — which has been in the works for than a decade and is set to be Minnesota's first copper-nickel mine — will be built. The permit to mine calls for PolyMet to make available $588 million in financial assurance the first year of mining, up from $544 million in the initial draft. That figure would rise to more than $1 billion about midway through the mine's proposed 20-year lifespan. The proposed mine and processing plant near Babbitt and Hoyt Lakes on the far northeastern edge of the Iron Range offers the potential for jobs and an entire new mining industry in the region, but one that carries with it new environmental risks in the state's most pristine corner. (MPR News)

5. Fifteen state House races to watch. Only a small number of Minnesota House seats are considered competitive in Tuesday's election. MPR News talked to operatives on both sides, looked at historical voting trends and and analyzed the final round of campaign finance reports before Election Day, which provide a roadmap to the districts parties and outside groups consider most in play. We've narrowed it down to 15 House races to watch. Republicans currently control the entire Legislature, ending the last session with a 77-57 majority in the House. If things break their way, they could control all of state government if they win the governorship on Election Day and retain a long-held Senate seat. Democrats need to pick up 11 seats to win back control of the House for the first time since 2014. They're confident that things favor them in a midterm election where their party base is energized in opposition to the presidency of Donald Trump. (MPR News)