Democrat Governor Tim Walz and their Republican challenger Scott Jensen went for each other’s throats as they ripped apart their opponents’ plans for Minnesota in what was the two’s first and only televised debate on Tuesday. 

There’s only three weeks left until the November 8 midterm elections and candidates are trying to find new ways to get voters on their side, including but not limited to the sex tape released by the sex positive third-party candidate in Manhattan. 

Already, Democrat and Republican candidates have spent thousands of dollars sharing their stance on a variety of issues, ranging from abortion to gun violence and governance through events, social media and ads. The televised debate was no different.

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Jensen said that he was willing to cut state spending, while bolstering the police force and shifting education budgets around. On the other hand, the incumbent Walz has offered to continue to support abortion access, while increasing school spending and has pledged to find a way to combat gun violence. 

“You get a choice here of a vision of Minnesota, one that questions our elections, one that tells women they can’t make their choices, one that defunds our public schools, or you get an opportunity that brought so many of us to Minnesota. An opportunity for a state that is inclusive,” Walz said during the debate from the  KTTC-TV studio in Rochester. 

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“We need to start funding kids, not broken institutions,” Jensen said. He claims to be a believer of offering students a choice of where they go to school and the access to education they should have, whether it is public, private or charter schools. While banning abortion has long been a part of the Republican playbook, Jensen seems unwilling to follow suit. Instead, he has said that the state should “share the responsibility and the challenge of planning families and planning pregnancies,” adding that he thought including maternity benefits and tax credits for adoption would be beneficial.