This is the Minnesota Public Radio Debate broadcast on October 16, 2026 between Michele Tafoya and Lt Gov Peggy Flanagan for the US Senate seat. There is no incumbent in this race as the Junior Senator Tina Smith decided not to run for it again; so it is an open seat.
Michele Tafoya did not win the MNGOP Endorsement at the State Convention in May but won against the endorsed candidate Adam Schwarze on August 11th, despite some claims the Primary had unusual activity in the vote counts.
The moderator for this debate was Brian Bakst.
There are Chapters or time stamps put into the video. If you click on the time stamp it will skip to that point in the video on another screen. To save space on our website page, we’ve added a break in it after the 11:17 minute mark. The debate is about 1 hour long. If you want to read more of the time stamps you can click on “Continue Reading.”
The following is the Minnesota Public Radio Debate between the Endorsed Republican Candidate Ron Schutz versus the DFL Attorney General Candidate and current incumbent. Brian Bakst is the moderator.
Thank God there’s Chapters or breaks in the video of when the questions are asked. Each time stamp when clicked on it will skip to it from a Youtube screen. The debate runs for an hour and if you want to see the time stamps after the 8 minute mark click on “Continue Reading.”
We have noted from the video when and what questions were asked, and when the responses are have timestamps on them starting from the start of the video. The SPNN/LWV Team doesn’t set it up on their videos with “Chapters” or breaks marking when questions are asked. They aren’t kind to their viewers. If their forums were merely informational they would make sure the audience who views the video would know when and what is being asked.
For the sake of fairness, to start off we will not list the incumbent’s title, just what party endorsed both of them. We’ll list the Candidates in the Original Electoral Colors prior the #NewsMafia’s switcheroo in 2006. Republicans will be in Dark Royal Blue, and the Socialist Democrats will be Communist Red .
Mark Born Endorsed Republican for HD 66A
Chris “Leigh” Finke aka Leigh Finke Endorsed DFL for HD 66A
Mary O’Neal Endorsed Republican for HD 66B
Athena Hollins Endorsed DFL & DSA for HD 66B
(DSA = Democratic Socialists of America)
**There are 14 Questions and Opening & Closing Statements. You can click on the “continue reading” below question 4 to see the rest of the questions asked and when each candidate answered.
Time Stamps from the start of the video above
0:00-5:38Debbie Magnusson who is a member of the LWV of St Paul and a big DFLer does an introduction and explains the rules and where the restrooms are at. She asks that members of the audience to not video the forum. So none of this video is edited on our end. She says she will start closing statements no later than 8:10 pm in order to finish at 8:30 pm.
The Rules she states are that each candidate can have an opening and closing statement that is 2 minutes long each, and can only have 1 minute to respond to a question. All candidates have agreed to it. If quoted by another candidate, the candidate can have a 30 second rebuttal. She says she will allow a candidate who does go over time to finish their thought before cutting them off.
She says the opening statements will be done according to alphabetical order and then she’ll randomly call on candidates during the forum so no candidate will always be first or last in the questioning. Often times in the SD 66 forum she would forget which order she was asking the candidates and she also called Kathleen Bart, “Candidate Bates.”
She talks about questions submitted prior to the forum and questions can be asked from the audience using note cards, then they review them. (Mostly questions asked that hold the incumbent DFLer accountable are never asked, because the LWV of St Paul are “nonpartisan”). Questions have to apply to all candidates, and no hostile or personal questions can be asked.
Opening Statements (2 minutes each)
HD 66A
5:41Mark Born
7:50Leigh Finke
HD 66B
9:50Athena Hollins
11:50Mary O’Neal
13:04 Question 1: If you are elected what strengths will you bring as a political leader in the legislature? Where might you learn you learn some new skills? Please answer both parts of this question.
13:18Mark Born
14:08 Leigh Finke
15:13Athena Hollins
16:13 Mary O’Neal
16:52 Question 2: About Affordable Housing. Homelessness and lack of affordable housing is a significant problem in House District 66A & B [HD 66B, she keeps dropping the 66 B part as though its not as important as the A side] as well across the Twin Cities. If elected, what will be your approach to addressing the housing crisis?
17:12 Leigh Finke
18:24 Athena Hollins
19:30 Mary O’Neal
20:28Mark Born
21:29 Question 3: Many working families identifying the increasing cost of living such as food and gasoline prices as a major hardship. If elected, what could you do as a state legislator to address these issues?
21:45Athena Hollins
22:54Mary O’Neal
23:23Mark Born
24:25Leigh Finke
25:21 Question 4: Do you believe that the state legislature should act to assist county governments to mitigate the losses to healthcare and social services funding enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill If so, how?
25:43 Mary O’Neal
25:51Mark Born
26:47Leigh Finke
27:50Athena Hollins
29:00 Question 5: During Operation Metro Surge, thousands of Federal Agents were deployed to Minnesota. Many people who were detained were US Citizens or legal residents of this country. As we know ICE entered schools, daycares, courts, and other community spaces. Do you believe that ICE’s actions crossed a moral or legal line? If we faced another ICE operation, what should the state government do to respond?
29:35Mark Born
30:35Leigh Finke
31:33Athena Hollins
32:45Mary O’Neal
33:06 Question 6: If elected, will you take urgent action at the state level to address climate change its consequences in the upcoming legislative session? Why, or why not?
33:20Leigh Finke
34:27Athena Hollins (she and Mr Finke think paying higher taxes somehow will affect the weather. If they could explain how climate change works the physical, thermodynamic changes in the atmosphere, maybe someone might take them seriously but how does money affect the temperatures in the atmosphere?)
35:36Mary O’Neal
36:17Mark Born
37:12 Question 7: Minnesota’s Comprehensive Achievement Test data indicates that over 50% of school students do not meet basic levels in reading, math, and science. What can the legislature do to help?
37:31Athena Hollins
38:39Mary O’Neal
Debbie Magnusson interrupts at the end of Mary’s comment. She says she has a quick follow up question.
39:447a question: You mention bringing SSI back. Can you tell the audience what SSI is?
39:49Mary O’Neal corrects herself and says ISS (In School Suspension)
39:57Mark Born
41:03Leigh Finke
Debbie Magnusson wants to give Athena Hollins another chance to speak and has forgotten that she led the answers for this question.
42:25 Question 8: Gun Safety is consistently a top issue for voters. As we head toward November, what specific policies or loans do you support to reduce gun violence in our own community?
42:38Mary O’Neal
43:10 Mark Born
44:09 Leigh Finke (he says the number 1 cause of death in children is guns, this is misleading because it includes those who are 18-20 in this range. 2A advocate and lawyer Colion Noir explains this lie they push. Actually the leading cause of deaths in children is abortions which the DFL will fight tooth and nail to keep being done)
45:26 Athena Hollins (she was one of the authors of the Red Flag law and she openly admitted that it wouldn’t stop gun violence during the Public Safety Hearings for it)
Debbie Magnusson wants Mary O’Neal to reply. This is the third time Debbie has done this and also did it in the SD 66 Forum as well.
46:41 Question 9: What is your position on AI Data Centers. As a legislator what if any steps will you take to regulate the construction of AI Data Centers in Minnesota?
46:52Mark Born
47:52Leigh Finke
49:02Athena Hollins
50:12 Mary O’Neal
50:58 Question 10: Recent reports on fraud in Minnesota Government Programs have raised concerns about program oversight and responsibility. How would you work to ensure accountability so that government funds are used as intended?
51:16 Leigh Finke
52:28Athena Hollins (She says she doubles down on what Fink said. She has this idea the DFL has been pursuing fraud as though the Republicans have done nothing on it. Yet who didn’t allow hearings or a vote on the $730 million expansion of the State Office Building? A similar size building, the MN Senate Building was built for $90 million and passed under DFL control as well)
53:40Mary O’Neal
54:37Mark Born
55:37 Rebuttal by Athena Hollins. (She is not running against Mark Born so this is a bit unorthodox and against the rules here. Mark also did not mention her name either. She also has more than the 30 second rebuttal rule allows. The LWV is not being a serious “nonpartisan” operation either. She states she was on this committee and the Republicans didn’t bring forth a bill on it either. (Hearing Committees don’t necessarily need to present bills there). This committee is to find out the depth of the fraud and Athena doesn’t acknowledges this. Mark should get a rebuttal to her inane defense.)
56:20 Debbie Magnusson says we need a deep breath (guessing she wants to get back onto the obvious script they have)
56:37Question 11: Minnesota has had the most closely divided state legislature in history for the past couple of years, forcing both parties to work together to govern. If elected, will you work with legislators from the other side of the aisle to find common ground? If so, how?
57:01Athena Hollins (she says she pushed the Banning Conversion Therapy bill. This law makes it illegal for a clergy member to help someone leave the LGBTQ lifestyle and there are a number of bent Republicans who went along with this encroachment upon Religious Freedom. She claims there were 11 Republicans who voted with the Trifecta).
58:08Mary O’Neal
59:14Mark Born
1:00:03Leigh Finke (he says a lot of things are said about him, but they are false. No they are true. He is a pariah who will be in office for a very long time. He has written the gender affirming care law, and the tampons in the boys bathrooms of public schools law too, not Gov Walz.)
1:01:18Question 12: The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension recently released a report that showed crime decreased significantly across Minnesota in 2025. What steps will you take to work with legislators, law enforcement and the gubernatorial administration to ensure that this trend continues?
[The BCA report says it has decreased but it hasn’t dipped below what it was before Covid and the riots of 2020. Also Police Departments have redefined certain crimes so they don’t show up in the regular crime statistics. In essence nothing has changed and crime hasn’t subsided.]
1:01:40Mary O’Neal
1:02:18Mark Born
1:03:21Leigh Finke
1:04:34Athena Hollins
1:05:46 Question 13: A new steel mill will be built in Iowa, creating approximately 1500 jobs. That plant will be using Minnesota iron ore. Why is that plant being built in Iowa do you believe? Is it our business climate and our government regulations? What would you do to make sure that the plant be built in Minnesota?
1:06:19 Mark Born
1:07:14Leigh Finke
1:08:17Athena Hollins (she doesn’t know. What people should know is there have been several attempts by foreign companies to set up a steel mill in the Iron Range and each attempt has been thwarted by environmentalists who endorse DFL candidates. This question might not be on the DFL script so they have not prepared an answer)
1:09:00Mary O’Neal
1:09:35 Question 14: What effects do you see recent Federal Budget cuts having on the state budget? If elected, what would you do to address state budgeting challenges?
1:09:48 Leigh Finke (like normal his response in his words is to raise “freaking” taxes. Demagoguery at it’s best he says Trump’s cuts are going to cost people’s lives, but doesn’t say how a cut would do that)
1:10:57 Athena Hollins (she gets the Demagogue and Far Leftist award here for saying that SNAP cuts will require Second Harvest Heartland to double the food they get to make up the difference. What she doesn’t say is that SNAP cuts are largely cutting off Foreign Invaders who are still here who are getting served before needy citizens)
1:12:23Mary O’Neal
1:13:20 Mark Born
Closing Statements (2 minutes each)
1:14:49Mary O’Neal
1:15:26Athena Hollins (She has been endorsed by the Democratic Socialist of America)
1:16:58 Leigh Finke (If you would like to know more about Leigh Finke the A4L guys did a great primer on him in a video they produced on Rumble called The Real Leigh Finke from 2023)
1:18:49Mark Born
1:20:25Debbie Magnusson does the Closing Statements from the LWV of St Paul
MNHD66BRepublicans.org is posting this as a courtesy to Voters in House Districts 66A & 66B. Some of the opinions of the endorsed Republican Candidates seem to violate the State Party’s Platform on the 2nd Amendment and about what happened during Operation Metro Surge. Candidates get nervous during these forums and say comments they didn’t mean to say.
This post was an event post. It was not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. We were not compensated for posting this by any Minnesota Republican Party Unit, nor any candidate or PAC. — admin
On an average day you spend a third of your day with your colleagues at work and friends give you advice and give you some breathing space in forms of athletic outings or fun activities. Let’s face it not everyone is married and friends are the life line for many single people. Paul had Barnabas, and Jesus had 12 main disciples who were friends and also his colleagues.
Life would be so bland without your friends. So why not say thank you to them for enriching your life?
Charles Schultz the cartoonist who created the Comic Strip, “Peanuts,” was from St Paul MN.
Nationally there are only 3 recognized holidays that bolster the love and admiration of the family: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Grandparents Day. We are the party of Judeo-Christian Family Values. We want to bring attention to the parts of the family that are often forgotten. In July we celebrated Aunts & Uncles, in August we celebrated Brothers Sisters & Cousins, and now we are celebrating our Friends and Colleagues–that other family we spend a third of our day with.
Why on the 3rd Sunday of October?
Well, because we can; but to have at least a full month since Grandparents Day to get ready. Also because the 2nd Sunday is closest to Columbus Day.
Colleagues are at work who share the load of a project. They know you almost as well as your family knows you. They challenge you to do your very best in the work you do. They chip in your contribution for pizza on occasion when they see you are coming up short. Work would be more stressful without good colleagues.
This article was reposted by permission from saintpaulrepublicans.us which has been running this holiday since 2018. It is not the SPRCC, but used to post for them prior to 2014. This was recently reposted on their site on October 12, 2026.
One of the benefits of getting involved in your local party unit is you can network with so many interesting people, locally in your neighborhood, your city, county, state, and sometimes at the national level. You can cement some really lasting friendships with people. So this #ProLifeSunday, call up your friends and co-workers and thank them for a lasting contribution to your life. — admin
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