Six Republican gubernatorial candidates used a Duluth debate to sharpen contrasts before Minnesota’s convention, with fraud in state programs emerging as the dominant issue ahead of Saturday’s endorsement vote.
More than 2,000 delegates are gathering for the two-day convention, and only Patrick Knight, Lisa Demuth and Kendall Qualls said they would abide by the delegates’ choice if they were not endorsed.
Fraud debate centered on Gov. Tim Walz’s tenure: Qualls and Knight rejected creating an inspector general, while Demuth backed one and Phil Parrish argued tighter controls could quickly cut off suspect NGO spending.
Healthcare and education rounded out the forum, with candidates unanimously attacking Obamacare, citing household costs as high as $25,000 a year, and pushing school reforms as fewer than half of public students read at grade level.
Donald Trump’s influence still loomed over the race: all six welcomed his endorsement, and only Knight named a policy disagreement, pointing to the national debt.
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