Campaigning Down to the Last Minute in the Third District

DFL candidate Dean Phillips made a campaign stop in Osseo, while Republican Erik Paulsen spent the day door-knocking. The race to represent the Third District is one of the biggest congressional races in the country and could be decided by voters in the Northwest Metro.

Coffee Shop Stop for Dean Phillips

Dean Phillips kicked off the last day of campaigning in Osseo, at a place that’s been consistent with his campaign…a coffee shop.

Supporters clapped their hands and cheered when DFL candidate Dean Phillips entered a Caribou Coffee in Osseo on Monday morning. He walked around shaking hands and meeting people.

Jan Schulz, a retired teacher from Brooklyn Park, was there to talk about healthcare.

“One of the main issues for me is health insurance and the ACA really helped me to have insurance when I wanted to retire early,” says Schulz. “I have heart disease and it’s a pre-existing condition.”

As Phillips wrapped up his conversation, he hit on a lot of subjects including campaign finance and tax cuts.

“There are parts of it I liked, like reducing the corporate income tax rate, I supported. I would have done so a little more gradually, and not to the extent we did,” explains Dean Phillips. “I wanted to more accrue more benefits to middle income Americans so I do not think we got a good deal out of this tax bill.”

Erik Paulsen Campaigning Door to Door

Republican Erik Paulsen isn’t taking his race for reelection for granted. He spent the last day on the campaign trail going door to door to encourage voters to get out to the polls. Paulsen was door knocking in the rain.

Paulsen’s final push comes with a focus on the economy.

“Number one the economy is booming and doing really well we had the jobs last week and we had 250,000 new jobs,” says Paulsen. “In fact the third district in Minnesota has the best and lowest unemployment rate of any district in the country. So we need to keep taxes where they are at. We don’t want to go in the other direction.”

Paulsen says another priority of his is lowering health care costs. The third district race is considered one of a handful of races across the country that will determine which of the two major political parties will control the U.S. House.

Brooklyn Park | Maple Grove | New Hope | Osseo | Plymouth