At Issue: Aug. 21 — State elections heat up as abortion, inflation, public safety talks continue

The race for Minnesota’s next governor will likely be the most expensive in state history.

Incumbent Gov. Tim Walz opted out of public funding, meaning he can spend any amount of money leading up to the November vote. Challenger Scott Jensen will get $490,000 in public funds but needs to raise millions more as he faces both Walz and special interest groups running ads against Jensen.

Walz and Jensen debated at FarmFest, but Walz declined to debate at the Minnesota State Fair. More debates could come, but none are on the schedule yet.

Congressional candidate Tom Weiler sits down with KSTP’s Tom Hauser to talk about his race against incumbent Rep. Dean Phillips for Minnesota’s 3rd District seat.

Then our political analysts join Hauser to weigh Weiler’s chances at overtaking Phillips in the district, which Democrats feel they can count on winning.

Learn more about political races, frontline worker applications, recent moves by the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and more in this week’s “At Issue.”