In their first joint interview since being elected to represent their respective political parties, the Minnesota DFL and GOP chairs called for a tamping down of political rhetoric and misinformation.

In an appearance recorded for “At Issue with Tom Hauser,” they reacted to the shootings that claimed the lives of the late House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark and wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.

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“If we want to advocate for the issues and positions we take, I celebrate that,” says Richard Carlbom, who was elected DFL Party chair in March. “I hope that we all continue to stay focused on the issues. I also think it’s incumbent on all of us to speak out when disinformation is out there. I think disinformation is what radicalizes people like this.” Carlbom was referring to Vance Boelter, the man charged in the shootings.

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Minnesota Republican Party Chair Alex Plechash says that on the morning of the shootings, he quickly adjourned a previously scheduled GOP Central Committee meeting.

“What I told that gathering before I gaveled it back out and adjourned the meeting, I said, ‘Folks, we do not know what happened here, but this is not a political thing. This is not a partisan thing. Please don’t make it that.’ This is a human tragedy and what I said to people that morning is this is the face of hatred. This is what happens when rhetoric goes off the rails and people do this kind of thing.”

Despite the shootings, the two party chairs say they have to move on with the 2026 campaign that promises to feature hotly contested races for governor and a U.S. Senate seat, plus an open Second District congressional seat.

“We’re already organizing,” Carlbom said. “We deployed ten organizers on the 16th of June across the state. We’re taking it very seriously. We’re already in campaign mode.” Plechash says Republicans know they have opportunities to win statewide races for the first time in years. “I’m very optimistic,” Plechash said. “It is going to be a hard-fought campaign. We do have a real opportunity here. We also are organizing with a view toward next campaign season. We’ve got a very good leadership team.”

The two party chairs do agree on one thing about 2026. The “Big Beautiful Bill” passed by Congress will be a big issue in the campaign.

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“250,000 plus Minnesotans stand to lose health care,” Carlbom says. “There are hospitals that are worried that they’re going to have to close or cut back services in the First District, and in the Eighth District alone, there’s a disproportionate number of people on Medicaid. And so to see four (Minnesota) Republican members of Congress vote for this bill is a travesty. They did it in order to give billionaires tax breaks.”

Plechash says there’s still work to be done at the state and federal levels. “We’ve been living with debt for many decades and there has to be a reconciliation somewhere, somehow. There are many things about this bill that still need to be worked out at the state level. But what we do know is there’s a lot of fraud and waste in many of our government programs.”

You can see the entire interview with the party leaders Sunday morning at 10 a.m. on “At Issue with Tom Hauser.”