Vice President Mike Pence makes a campaign stop in Duluth on Wednesday for 8th District U-S House candidate Pete Stauber. Republicans are trying to grab the seat when Democrat Rick Nolan retires, and Hamline University analyst David Schultz says, “I think this is part of a broader strategy in terms of shoring-up the base and making sure, not just for primary but for eventually the general election, that they turn out.”
GOP candidate Stauber should have an easy win in the primary election one week from tomorrow. But five Democrats are battling in the primary to carry their party’s banner against Stauber in the November election.
Schultz says whether Vice President Pence’s visit changes voters’ minds in unclear, but “the Pence visit will… dominate the news for several days, again, precluding Democrats going into the primary on August 14th from perhaps doing as much messaging as they want.”
It’s the second top-level visit for Duluth this summer. President Trump was there in late June.
More in this interview with MNN’s Bill Werner: