DFLer Amy Klobuchar and Republican Lisa Demuth found alignment Monday on some approaches to managing Minnesota’s business environment, telling a Chamber of Commerce crowd that they’d avoid new taxes, fight fraud and speed up permitting.

But each candidate for governor held herself up as the one with the track record, know-how and vision for getting things done.

It was the first time Klobuchar and Demuth went head-to-head since each were nominated this summer. By today’s debate standards, this one was fairly tame with few direct exchanges. It’s likely one of just two times they’ll share a stage. The second, more traditional candidate debate is scheduled for Wednesday night in Rochester.

The candidates frequently broke from the topic at hand to rhetorically jab one another over perceived shortcomings.

Demuth, the current Minnesota House speaker, said Klobuchar wouldn’t do enough to address fraud or the expense of state government. Demuth tried to tie the current U.S. senator to two-term Gov. Tim Walz, who has been in charge as hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud in state programs were unearthed.

“I have to ask you this: Are you better off today than you were just eight years ago? Are your businesses better off today than they were eight years ago?” Demuth asked the crowd.

“Senator Klobuchar has never once distanced herself from Gov. Walz and every single policy that he has put in place that has increased the prices and made it harder to do business and to be able to just live our lives here in Minnesota,” Demuth continued.

Klobuchar contested that appraisal as she made space between herself and Walz.

“I'm different than Tim Walz. I know you wish you were debating Tim Walz. But I'm the one here right now,” Klobuchar said, adding that she “would have caught that fraud. I would have done something about it.”

She blamed the current hardships on President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran. She said Demuth has been timid toward Trump.

“We need a governor that is going to work across the aisle but also stand up to that, stand up to these tariff/taxes that are costing Minnesotans $2,000 a year and has brought our exports down 13 percent in our state,” she said “Stand up to this war in Iran, which has meant our gas prices have gone way up.”

Both also said they’d look to streamline permitting, pursue additional guardrails on artificial intelligence and boost funding on technology that counties use to enroll people in government programs.

Each promised to review Minnesota’s relatively new paid family and medical leave program. Demuth said she would consider scaling back the number of weeks someone is eligible for paid time off and which relatives fit under the care component.

Klobuchar said she would keep an open door to business owners to suggest improvements while making sure families are protected.

They parted slightly on data centers.

Demuth called them a “local control issue.”

Klobuchar said the state “has to have some involvement. These are major projects. But in the end, if a local community doesn’t want to have a data center, they shouldn’t have to have a data center.”

The hourlong event closed with the nominees giving a closing pitch built around a question about how they would fan opportunities and aspirations of Minnesotans.

Demuth said Minnesota needs a reboot after 16 years of Democrats holding the governor’s office. She said that could only happen if Minnesotans elect a Republican.

“If you're okay with the status quo and what we've experienced over the last eight years, then you have a choice to make in 15 days,” Demuth said. "If you want a fresh start, a new direction and leadership that will move us forward, I would be honored for you to consider voting for me.”

Klobuchar said she’s proven she can work beyond party labels.

“I continue to believe in getting things done. That is what matters,” Klobuchar said. “I don't want to move this state to the left or to the right. I want to move our state forward.”

The candidates ended with a handshake but quickly moved along. They have about two weeks to the election finish line.

Collected from Minnesota Public Radio News. View original source here.