Angie Craig and Joe Teirab discuss abortion, inflation and immigration in MPR debate

In a debate on Minnesota Public Radio on Friday before the election for one of the state’s most hotly contested congressional seats, Rep. Angie Craig and her Republican challenger Joe Teirab sparred over the economy, abortion rights and immigration.

Craig, a Democrat seeking a fourth two-year term representing the state’s Second Congressional District, touted her bipartisan record and law enforcement support and portrayed her opponent as an “anti-abortion activist” who wants to raise the Social Security retirement age – which whatever Teirab denied.

Craig highlighted her past divisions with fellow Democrats and her work with members of Minnesota’s Republican House of Representatives.

“The break with my own party was on issues of law enforcement, border security and on behalf of our family farmers,” she said. “I have already proven that I will be an independent voice.”

Meanwhile, Teirab tried to link Craig to rising real estate and food prices because she supported government spending bills signed by President Joe Biden.

Describing himself as a “middle-class guy” who understands the problems of working families, Teirab accused Craig of “throwing gas on the inflation fire” by criticizing Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the infrastructure bill and big spending packages from the era Pandemic support, some of which were signed into law by former President Donald Trump.

“Middle class families are struggling and are being crushed under the weight of inflation,” he said. “Angie Craig represents the status quo in business. We can go in a different direction.”

The candidates are vying for a seat in the U.S. Congress representing the southern suburbs and rural areas stretching east to the Wisconsin border and southwest to about St. Peter and Mankato. Of Minnesota’s eight U.S. House races, it is typically the most closely watched and competitive.

Craig was first elected in 2018, ousting one-term GOP incumbent Jason Lewis. Teirab is a former federal prosecutor who served in the Marines and is the son of a Sudanese immigrant.

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Republican candidate for Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District Joe Teirab (right) and incumbent U.S. Rep. Angie Craig listen to MPR News political editor Brian Bakst speak Friday at the MPR Kling Public Media Center in downtown St. Paul explains the rules for their debate. October 4, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

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With the end of federal abortion protections, the issue has become the focus of congressional elections in suburbs like Minnesota’s Second District.

During the debate, Craig pointed to Teirab’s ties to the anti-abortion movement, including his membership on the board of a crisis pregnancy center, which Teirab said convinced his mother not to have an abortion when she was pregnant with him.

Pressed for his views, Teirab reiterated a line that many Republicans have taken on abortion since the overturning of Roe v. Wade represented by the US Supreme Court in 2022: There should be no federal ban.

“This is not a federal issue, this is a state issue,” he said.

Craig questioned this stance.

“If you’re in Congress and you don’t stand up and say, ‘No way, I’m not going to stand by while a state forces a rape survivor to carry a child to term for 40 weeks with no other choice, and that too still available.’ “Kid, you don’t belong in Congress,” she said.

immigration

Joe Teirab gestures while speaking into a microphone. — Republican challenger Joe Teirab delivers his opening statement during a debate with U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, DFL-Minn., as the two candidates for Minnesota’s Second Congressional District on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at MPR News in St. Paul compete against each other. John Autey/Pioneer Press)

The candidates also clashed over border policy during the debate. Teirab accused Craig of not being tough enough on immigration policy because she did not support a Republican bill that would have increased funding for the border patrol and funded the construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Craig noted that she has separated herself from her fellow Democrats in the past by supporting the GOP’s immigration and law enforcement legislation, including limits on the number of asylum seekers allowed into the United States. She also said she joins the GOP in condemning Biden over his handling of illegal immigration.

social security

Angie Craig gestures as she speaks at a table in front of a microphone. — Incumbent U.S. Representative of Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District Angie Craig delivers one during a debate between her and Republican candidate Joe Teirab at the MPR Kling Public Media Center in downtown St. Paul on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024 point to express. (John Autey/Pioneer Press)

Craig pushed Teirab to say in February that he would consider privatizing Social Security and possibly raising the retirement age. Teirab has distanced himself from these comments, claiming he had not expressed a serious political preference and would not want to cut benefits for his parents, who live on a fixed income.

Both Craig and Teirab said people shouldn’t have to pay income taxes on Social Security checks above a certain income level. Craig has a bill to create new limits that Teirab could support as a “common sense” solution, Teirab said.

Election 2020

Host Brian Bakst, MPR’s political editor, asked Teirab if he believed in the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“It was fair. It was clear. Joe Biden was elected president,” said Teirab, who helped prosecute Jan. 6 rioter Brian Mock.

Asked whether he would support a pardon for Mock, as Trump had proposed for the Capitol rioters, Teirab said it would not be appropriate.

“I was proud to be part of the effort to make sure that we actually hold these types of people accountable, and that’s why I’m going to stand by that,” he said.

Asked if there was a reason she couldn’t certify the results of the 2024 presidential election, Craig said she believes in the “integrity of American elections.”

The race

Joe Teirab and Angie Craig shake hands. — U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, DFL, right, and Republican challenger Joe Teirab shake hands after a debate between candidates for Minnesota’s Second Congressional District at MPR News in St. Paul, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (John Autey/Pioneer Press)

Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District is often one of the most expensive races in the state, and recent elections have seen allegations that both sides are supporting “spoiler” candidates to steal votes away from the two mainstream party candidates.

The hour-long debate on Minnesota Public Radio Friday afternoon was the second time the candidates met, following their first appearance in August at the Minnesota Farmfest — whose candidate forums are a key early stop in state elections. They will meet again on Monday at a local Chamber of Commerce debate in Hastings.

Election day is November 5th. Early voting is already underway.

topicnews · October 5, 2024