Republican candidates for Senate Royce White and Joe Fraser squared off on Thursday night, debating key issues as they battle for the party’s nomination to face Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in November.
Fraser won the coin toss to give the first opening statement, and outlined his qualifications as a veteran and family man with experience in industry. Fraser stated that the GOP has a chance to be “bold, brave, and forward-leaning,” and focus on jobs, the economy, debt, and national security.
White, a former NBA player and the party-endorsed candidate, critiqued Fraser for his unwillingness to recognize the endorsement process, but spoke of his competitive nature driving him to accept a debate regardless. White referenced the recent attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life, and expressed that he believes the GOP needs to fight in the same fashion Trump requested his audience to fight, by speaking the truth. White summarized his platform as “border, debt, forever wars,” meaning closing off illegal immigration, paying the national debt, and ending needless intervention in conflicts abroad.
In response to the question of what each candidate would do to convince Minnesotans to select them over the three-term Klobuchar, Fraser responded that he would hold her responsible for her behavior, referencing a number of infamous rumors about the “Senator of Small Things,” including allegedly eating a salad with a comb and demeaning her staff. Fraser noted that Klobuchar is running on a platform of lowering costs of living, healthcare, and education, pointing out that all of those costs have increased under her oversight.
White, meanwhile, stated that he holds an advantage in his ability to appeal to minority voters in Congressional Districts 4 and 5, having grown up in the area and understanding the mindset of working class blacks and Hispanics. White expressed enthusiasm at the prospect of increasing minority support for Trump, and stated that he believes such demographics could be drawn without compromising the party’s ideas and identity.
When asked about his past issues with law enforcement and child support payments, White responded by deriding the court system as anti-American, saying he overpaid in child support and that the court system is set against fathers, rendering many of them economically barren. Fraser, meanwhile, was questioned about his refusal to go along with the Minnesota GOP’s endorsement of White. Fraser claimed that only a “small fraction” of the party showed up for the endorsement, and that White’s past was one of many factors that compelled him to continue his campaign.
White said lies are the greatest problem related to American politics, referring to the “post-World War II democratic liberal order” and the decision to expend American blood and treasure in the attempt to democratize other countries. Fraser claimed that the biggest problem facing the country is the national debt, arguing that it poses a risk to national security and hampers prosperity. Fraser concluded that he is the best qualified to address this issue because he knows “how the swamp creatures work.”
Minnesota Republicans will have the chance to express which candidate’s vision was more compelling in the Aug. 13 primary.
Evan Poellinger
Evan Poellinger, the Alpha News Summer 2024 Journalism Fellow, is a native Minnesotan with a lifelong passion for history and politics. He previously worked as a journalism intern with the American Spectator and an investigative journalism fellow with the Media Research Center. He is a graduate of College of the Holy Cross with degrees in political science and history.
