Host this is mpr news, im mike mo katie. One of the key races this november is for senator. Tina smith is the incumbent, a former Lieutenant Governor first appointed by governor mike dayton in 2018, and she won a special election two years ago. If she wins this year, it will be for a full six year term. Her republican opponent is jason lewis, he served a term in congress from minnesotas Second District and is a former talk radio host. Tina smith and jason lewis joined me remotely this hour as part of our meet the candidate series to talk about the issues facing minnesota and the country. There arent a lot of rules for our conversation today. I will ask you a series of questions. I ask you to keep to the issues, even though you are running for senate, we dont need to filibuster. I will give you each plenty of time to lay out your views and respond to each other. One firm a rule i will enforce is you cant talk over each other. It sounds bad on the radio, people will turn us off, and nobody will hear what you have to say. I will give you each a minute at the start and the end to make the case why voters should pick you. I flipped a coin before we started, jason lewis, you get the first minute. Why should you be the u. S. Senator for minnesota . Sen. Lewis thank you, and thank you all for doing this. I guess we can filibuster well weve still got the chance. Because our friends on the others of the aisle having their way, there will be no electoral college, no filibuster, new statehood, and they will pack the Supreme Court. Thats one of the things that will come out of this debate, you dont mess with the court, you dont mess with the separation of powers, you dont threaten to pack the court until they rule your way. Thats a full frontal assault on judicial review, even fdr was shut down when he floated the idea. Ruth Bader Ginsburg thought it was a horrible idea. Thats a threat to selfgovernment and our constitutional republic. When we talk about a Supreme Court nominee and amy coney barrett, lets make certain we are going down a very dangerous path of packing the Supreme Court. Also, we have to talk about Public Safety. Everything has changed since this summer, the riots, everything happening across minnesota and this country. Either you will back Law Enforcement and make certain we dont have one bad apple and smear an entire profession, which we wouldnt do for everyone else, but we do it for Law Enforcement. Mike thats a minute. Tina smith, why are you the best choice this year . Sen. Smith good morning. Thank you, mike and Minnesota Public Radio for hosting this debate, and everyone out there listening and sending in questions. In this moment, minnesota families are facing a health crisis, and an economic crisis brought on by this pandemic. We are also in the midst of a racial reckoning that is long overdue in this state and country. We really are all in this together. We all have to take responsibility. Us, as wetouch any of have seen again this morning, with the news the president and first lady have contracted covid. And we all wish them a speedy recovery and the very best. In the midst of this worry and uncertainty, and Division Like i have never seen before, i want you all to know we are working hard for you in washington. I have listened to you and have gone to work with democrats and republicans to pass more than two dozen pieces of legislation, including lowering Prescription Drug prices, expanding world broadband, supporting mental health, and making covid tests free for everyone. Theres so much more to do, and i look forward to the conversation ahead. Mike jason lewis, its hard to ignore the news of the day. You were with President Trump on air force one wednesday, and his rally in duluth. Have you been tested . What is your status right now . Sen. Lewis i have been tested about four times in the last four weeks. The president and Vice President have been to minnesota so often, as you know. When you get together with them, you get tested. And we maintained social distancing. I talked to the president at a distance. But as a matter of precaution, we will quarantine until i can get to the doctor and get tested, as the way we should do it. Which is always the way we should do these things. You should test and quarantine. Those who are vulnerable, been exposed, who are sick. But a second Great Depression by locking down the country again, which Vice President biden and tina smith want to do, is not the answer to solve this disease. So we will take the normal precautions we would, but we will not tell people who are otherwise healthy they cant go about their business. Mike lets stay on the topic of the pandemic. Its killed more than 200,000 americans, more than 2000 minnesotans. Its had a major impact on the economy. What should the u. S. Government do . What would you support in the senate to both keep us safe and allow businesses and other public laces to reopen and get back to normal . Sen. Smith thank you. Us, as covid has shown someone said in southern minnesota, we are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. Its a Public Health and economic crisis. Its personal for minnesotans. It is your jobs, families, businesses, wellbeing. My approach has been bipartisan, to work across the aisle to get support to families, Small Businesses, and hospitals, especially rural hospitals. The trump administrations response to the covid pandemic has been a disaster. Theres been a lack of coordinated strategy, a shortage of testing and personal protective equipment, and as we sit here today, we have lost over 200,000 americans. What i think we need to do next in the senate is first we need to continue for Bipartisan Solutions to get help to Small Businesses and individuals. We need to get help to our schools and state and local governments. We need a National Testing strategy, which i am pushing for with my republican colleague from louisiana, dr. Bill cassidy. And we need a plan for free vaccines. This is a bright spot for us in the pandemic, vaccines that are safe and effective. We need to keep the political interference out of the rollout of the vaccines. When ready, we need to make sure they are free for everyone. Thats legislation im working on in the senate. Mike jason lewis, what would you do to get the country out of this, and what would you do in the senate to get us there . Sen. Lewis the first thing i would do is pass covid relief, which my opponent has opposed three times. They are still opposing covid relief. They say on one hand its a next essential threat, h1 and one had 60 million infections, not 7 million, but they say its a next essential threat. But joe bidens campaign yesterday said they were going to start door knocking again. No word in the wake of the news today. You have nancy pelosi say come to chinatown, its not a problem. Bill de blasio saying the same thing. The real crisis is new york, new jersey, and minnesota, where you took covid positive patients out of the hospital and put them in a longterm congregated living facility and nursing homes. Our ndh was doing that. Governor Walz Administration was doing that. No criticism from tina smith. What you do is exactly what we have been saying you do, quarantine those who are sick, protect the vulnerable, and have the Health Authorities give recommendations to the rest of the country and treat them as adults. And we will get through this together. But we cant go through, as i said earlier, these massive shutdowns and lockdowns, and now biden, harris, and a smith plan is to have a federal shutdowns. You will not cure this with another Great Depression. Give the covid relief. We are flattening the curve by any standard. Now we are seeing spikes in cases. We see hospitalizations down double digits since the summer, and covid mortality dropping like a rock. Thats good. Mike tina smith, do you support a nationwide shutdown . Sen. Smith there is no such thing as a nationwide shutdown. Here are the facts. The most important thing we can do to get our economy back on track to running back at full steam ahead is to deal with the Public Health crisis we have. Thats the most important thing. Theres is a clear difference between my opponent and this approach i have taken. I have had strong support for bipartisan bills that have gotten help to minnesotans. Im proud of that. In the senate, you get things done when you compromise, when you Reach Across Party Lines to make a difference in peoples lives. Has said compromise makes him nervous. He has said in this issue about whether people should be Wearing Masks or not, he has ridiculed Public Health experts, said they are part of the deep state, he pushes conspiracy theories that are exaggerated, and he sued the governor. This is not the way to get things done for minnesotans. The way to get things done is to Reach Across Party Lines, to find common ground, and focus on peoples lives and what you can do to help them. That has been my approach. Mike jason lewis, if you if you and second the president had been Wearing Masks the other day, you wouldnt have to be in quarantine for two weeks, right . And lewis your question tina dodged the point about a federal mask mandate. Im opposed to a federal mask mandate. I think its unconstitutional. Joe biden has said hes in favor of that. I would like to hear the senators view on that. Hawaii had an indoor and outdoor mask mandate. What happened this summer . Cases increased. This is a contagion. Its tough to control. You go about your business and do the best you can protecting the vulnerable by not putting covid positive patients in nursing homes. But if your point is we are going to shut down every resort in northern minnesota, we will tell kids they cant go back to school, we will Block Economic progress, you are never going to get to the bottom of this, because you need Economic Growth to cure the disease, develop a and there appeared its. Thats my point. Mike tina smith, jason lewis said you voted against eight packages eight packages in the senate. You have. What kind of packages should the senate pass . Who should get the help . Sen. Smith im glad you raised that. This is a place where former congressman lewis is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. We have passed Bipartisan Legislation and have gotten things done because we passed Bipartisan Legislation. As congressman lewis likes to point out, the legislation i voted against. Let me explain that. When republicans in senate put together partisan legislation that doesnt meet the need of minnesotans, i voted against those legislations. Do you know what happened . We came back together and improved those pieces of legislation in order to get the help minnesotans needed. I voted against legislation the republicans put forward that had zero help for Minnesota Schools and national schools, and we negotiated, compromise, and got dollars for schools. I voted against legislation that had zero dollars for state and local governments and travel governments. And we negotiated, compromise, and got resources republic services. Thats what it looks like when you get things done in the senate. Im proud of that work. Mike should there be another aid package . Smith, i willa get back to you, jason lewis. Sen. Smith yesterday, the house of representatives passed another aid package, another effort by democrats to compromise and find common ground. Work betweenficant Speaker Pelosi and secretary mnuchin. Unfortunately, that hasnt borne fruit. The republicans in the senate have been completely on the sidelines, offering no solutions and not moving us forward. Its unfortunate, because i talk to Small Businesses in minnesota, families, people worried about their schools, and we need to come to our resolution on this. Mike jason lewis, what kind of package would you support in the senate to help people out in all of this . Sen. Lewis indeed, facts are stubborn things, senator. You voted against three covid packages that would have gone directly to minnesotans, not state government, not other governmental organizations, right to minnesotans. Theres a trillion dollar package sitting there right now that democrats are holding up. Those are the facts. If you are holding up an aid package because you want incarcerated felons to get the vote, you know your heart isnt in the right place. That has nothing to do with covid. That was one of the demands in one of the previous covid relief packages democrats were demanding. Theres a bill right now ready to go, and democrats are holding it up. I would have voted for all of the first three packages i mentioned, including the one Mitch Mcconnell has on the table right now. But in the final analysis, we have to get the economy going again, not just packing relief package after relief package. If the government shuts down the economy, they have an obligation to help people out of work. But tennessee, florida, a number of states are getting their economies going, and minnesota isnt, sadly. Mike we are talking with jason lewis, the republican candidate for u. S. Senate. Tina smith is the dfl senator and is running again this year. All of the voters in minnesota will get a say of this and decide who serves the next sixyear term in the senate. Let me change the subject to police and Public Safety, a huge issue, especially after the death of george floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police officers on memorial day, and everything that followed after that. Jason lewis, what would you do as a senator to ensure all people, especially people of color, receive equal justice under the law . Sen. Lewis its not a matter of what i would do, its what i did. When i reach across the aisle with representative bobby scott, a liberal democrat from virginia, we reauthorized the juvenile Justice Reform act, which had been sitting dormant for 15 years. I reached across the aisle with a number of democrats in my term in the house of representatives. We were moving in the right direction on criminal Justice Reform. Not just my juvenile Justice Reform act, which didnt put young firsttime offenders in jail with hardened criminals, gave them a career in technical education, instead, but also the first step act. But one injustice doesnt solve another. The riots in the wake of all of these tragedies are simply uncalled for. Joe biden saying antifa is an idea, not an organization. Medically, these pile of bricks magically, these pile of bricks show up in chicago , minneapolis, portland. You have them costing millions of dollars in damage and you call them peaceful protests . There are problems when your government doesnt back Law Enforcement. I do. Once you dont back Law Enforcement, the word gets out quick to people who want to do damage to life, liberty, and property. I dont believe that, and i think my opponent does when she talks about the dangerous role police play in society, or crazy comments like its a privilege to call the police. That is dangerous stuff for minnesota. Im not going to support that. Unfortunately, tina smith does. Mike tina smith, how do you ensure everybody gets justice in this country . Sen. Smith everybody should feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods and communities. The murder of george floyd in minneapolis has shown a bright light on how this is not the case in our state and our country. This is a moment where i believe we have laid bare at the inequities and scrim and nation that exist in our criminal Justice System and policing. It is our responsibility, a call to our humanity to look at this and address it. So what do we do about this . I support commonsense reforms that will bring more accountability and transparency, and more justice to policing. The justice and policing act, which i suppor and support, which would ban chokeholds and racial profiling, and the noknock warrants that are what were the forerunner of Breonna Taylor being murdered in her own bed. I support changing the rules so Police Officers who violate peoples rights and use Excessive Force can be held accountable. I support a National Registry for police conduct. Officers cant jump from one jurisdiction to the next and not be held accountable for their excessive in another place. I understand these issues, because i worked as chief of staff for the mayor of minneapolis and as Lieutenant Governor. I worked closely with Law Enforcement. I have seen what happens when good cops are trapped in a system where there is no accountability, and you end up with what we have today in this country, where far too often, people of color are much more likely to be the victims of Excessive Force and violence. Mike what about the people who rioted . What about the Property Damage after the killing of george floyd . Sen. Smith i condemn we all condemn violence, arson, and looting. If you break the law, you should be held accountable. Everybody deserves equal justice in this country. In this moment where we are facing the realities of racial inequity, i have to say to listen to our president in the debate earlier this week fail repeatedly to condemn white supremacy. It took him two days to be able to get the words out that he condemns white supremacy. To hear him call on the proud boys, a violent white supremacist hate group, to call them to standby is the exact kind of thing we dont need in our country. And i have not heard my opponent condemn that. This is a moment where we need to come together around our shared values and not be driving us apart more and more, which is the path the president and my opponent want to lead us down. Mike jason lewis, will you condemn White Supremacists . Sen. Lewis of course, we all condemn them, including the president months ago. But i believe in due process. Including for Law Enforcement officers. Thats the difference between myself and tina smith. She is in this reimagined the police mode with the Bernie Sanders manifesto, which nobody knows what it means, except the minneapolis city council, who is voting to defund the police and blame them. She wants to take away qualified immunity from policeman and women. Id like to say i didnt know much about cops until i married one. I can tell you from personal discussions, thats a dangerous thing. If you want police men and women to do their job, but you are going to sue them, and when they make good faith incisions in a split second, thats what tina smith supports. The tim scott bill, which collected data, addressed the chokeholds, did the rest of the things, she opposed it because it didnt take away qualified immunity for Law Enforcement. That is not backing the blue. Thats a huge distinction. The fundamental problem right now, and i have talked to 20 businesses in minneapolis and st. Paul, most of them owned by people of color, and to a person that said we dont have a problem with too many police, we have a problem with too little police. We need them on the streets. Now police are resigning in minneapolis in droves. Three chiefs of police, who are all people of color, in rochester, dallas, seattle, were driven from their jobs by the antifa mob and by this obsession with going after cops. That doesnt help people of color, they are people of color who were chiefs of police trying to do their job. Who speaks for them . I am going to. Mike what about the qualified immunity issue . How do you restore that trust in the police department, tina smith . Sen. Smith as i said, i believe we need to change the rules so Police Departments and Police Officers can be held accountable. That is too often not the case right now. But if you listen to my opponent, what you hear him trying to suggest is we face in this country a choice between law and order and rioting and mayhem in the streets. But of course that isnt the choice. The choices what do we do to have Public Safety for everyone in this this is what is at stake in this election. Are we going to forward . Or are we going to follow this path of chaos that donald trump and my opponent have laid out today . Almost three years ago, i became your senator. I go to washington every day to fight for you and your health care, your retirement, your familys opportunity, and i think we have to go to work and get it done. I ask for your support to get it done together. Thank you so much. That is our friday program. Who will control congress in january . Stay informed on the congressional races leading up to election day with cspans 2020 coverage. Watch the candidates debate and Election Results on cspan. Atch online at cspan. Org cspan. Your unfiltered view of politics. Host that same event that we have been talking over and