It’s pretty clear the battle lines have been drawn in Minnesota’s most competitive congressional race. The two candidates running for the Second District seat, incumbent Democrat Angie Craig and Republican challenger Joe Teirab, staked out positions on the economy, abortion and immigration.

“I have a bill that would create a federal group, a federal task force, that would get after exactly why consumer prices have been so high,” Craig said in a nearly one-hour debate broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio. She speculated that corporate greed and CEO salaries are partially to blame.

Teirab, a former federal prosecutor, countered by saying inflation spiked due to federal spending Craig voted for.

“How’d we get here?” Teirab asked. “Obviously, we had the terrible Biden-Harris economic agenda that passed reckless spending bill after reckless spending bill.”

On abortion, Teirab repeatedly criticized Craig for misrepresenting whether he supports a federal abortion ban and whether he supports any exceptions to abortion bans. “You want to confuse voters about my stance. I do support exceptions for rape, incest and (to save) the life of the mother.”

Craig cited a questionnaire Teirab filled out for an anti-abortion group and past statements he has made as an anti-abortion activist. “I’m going to let listeners and women and their families judge for themselves whether what I’m saying is correct,” she said.

The debate comes as outside spending is finally showing up to influence the Second District race. According to the campaign finance website “Opensecrets.org,” just over a million dollars has now come in from outside sources, almost all of it in support of Craig. That’s still far below the $19 million spent by outside interest groups in the race in 2022.

Republican strategist Brian McDaniel believes Teirab could win the race even though the respected Cook Political Report continues to rate it as “leans Democrat.”

“It’s 100% in play,” McDaniel says in an interview recorded for “At Issue with Tom Hauser,” which will air Sunday at 10 a.m. “Putting Teirab in when Taylor Rahm stepped down [from the race] only enhanced Republicans’ ability to bring the Second Congressional District back to Republican hands.”

Former DFL state Sen. Ember Reichgott Junge says she understands why Craig is favored to win.

“She made the case that she is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress,” Reichgott Junge said. “She is one of the most independent voices in Congress. She has gone against her party on several occasions. And particularly strong on law enforcement. I think those three things will win the day.”

The two candidates will debate again Monday morning in Lakeville at a Chamber of Commerce event.