Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidates for 8th Congressional District seat will debate 7-9 p.m. July 23 at the Chalberg Theatre on the Central Lakes College campus in Brainerd.
The five DFL candidates are Kirsten Kennedy, current mayor of North Branch; Michelle Lee, former Duluth television news anchor; Jason Metsa, current Minnesota House representative from District 6B; Joe Radinovich, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives; and Soren Sorensen, a progressive activist from Bemidji.
Mike O'Rourke, former associate editor at the Brainerd Dispatch, will be the moderator. O'Rourke served as moderator for debates in House districts 9A and 10A in 2016. O'Rourke, according to organizers, has stressed the importance of keeping the debate questions objective with no bias towards or against specific candidate views or issues.
Topics will be drawn from listening sessions and town hall meetings with 8th District constituents, including universal health care and reducing the cost of drugs, jobs, the looming trade war over tariffs, the loosening of banking regulations, increased funding for education at all levels, election finance reform, balancing economic and environmental concerns and the national opioid epidemic.
The debate is sponsored by the DFL executive committees of Aitkin, Cass, Crow Wing, Hubbard and Wadena counties as well as the DFL executive committees of Senate District 5 and Congressional District 8.
