Good morning. A big batch of fundraising reports will trickle out this week in federal races.

The pace of early voting is picking up steam in Minnesota. Minnesota has reached 127,682 ballots submitted in the early vote phase of the midterm election. That’s according to figures released Friday by the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office which show a surge in absentee and mail ballots completed by voters and accepted by local election officials. The total has doubled over the past week. Most of the ballots were cast via mail but about 48,000 were filled out at in-person locations. Minnesota doesn't have voter registration by party. Democrats have made a significant early-voting push but Republicans say they are also encouraging voting ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.

Minnesota’s Senate race remains tight with Democratic nominee Peggy Flanagan holding a slim lead, according to new polling from the Star Tribune and KARE 11. Flanagan has a small edge — 47 percent to 43 percent — over Republican Michele Tafoya with a few weeks to go with about 9 percent of respondents saying they’re still making up their minds and the rest considering someone else. That tracks with another poll done by Morning Consult for Blois Olson’s company and released last week. The Star Tribune/KARE poll was conducted last week and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. President Donald Trump is towering over the midterm elections and his standing is continuing to deteriorate. The poll found his approval rating in Minnesota at 38 percent, with the percentage of those disapproving ticking up from this summer.

The national money is only a trickle in the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota, unlike other states. During the primary race for the Senate seat, more than $20 million was spent by outside groups. As of Friday, outside groups have spent in the ballpark of $2 million on the race. That jarring difference comes as national Democratic and Republican PACs have been pouring millions into races across the country — many in historically Republican states such as Ohio, Texas, Iowa and even Kansas. On the Sunday morning national politics shows, Some GOP analysts talked up Minnesota as an emerging Senate battleground. A new batch of candidates spending reports is due this week. Peter reports on why the matchup between DFLer Peggy Flanagan and Republican Michele Tafoya has not seen an influx of money, what it could mean, and what to expect in the last three weeks of this race. That includes the debate between the two this Friday on MPR News. 

Governor candidate Amy Klobuchar said additional resources for officer recruitment and retention, a regional task force on gang violence prevention and a package of gun restrictions would be part of her public safety platform. The Democratic nominee rolled out the package Friday at Century College, flanked by prosecutors and public safety officials. After recent incidents of gun violence in the Twin Cities suburbs, Klobuchar said the young people involved need to be arrested and charged to send a message that those who engage in violence won’t get away with it. “Sometimes compassion is having consequences because if they think no one's going to do anything about it, and they can just roam around and do more of this and meet each other up in another suburb or another place or in Minneapolis or St. Paul, you're going to just continue it and expand it,” Klobuchar said. The U.S. senator and former Hennepin County attorney said she’d draw on her experience in law enforcement to bolster public safety. She said she would review criminal penalties to enhance the sentences for some crimes and work to enact gun restrictions that passed the DFL-led Senate this year but failed in the House. “As I said as I took the oath of office as Hennepin County attorney, public safety is the first responsibility of government, and, as governor, I will keep you safe,” she said.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Star Tribune’s Briana Bierschbach, Amy Klobuchar talked about her path into politics, growing up in Minnesota and her plans as the possible next governor. The four term U.S. senator spoke about her plans to work with both sides of the political aisle, saying she will put a Republican in her cabinet. She said she might disappoint some in her party from time to time. “I've said this a number of times, ‘Spoiler alert, you're not going to like everything I do,’” she said. “That's because a governor has the obligation to look out for the whole state, not just one district.” In the interview she was also critical of the current administration. Klobuchar said about Gov. Tim Walz, “The governor and I have very different backgrounds, and I have made it very clear he should have caught this fraud earlier. He has said it himself.” 

The 2nd Congressional District candidates faced off in a debate on MPR’s “Politics Friday” last week. Democrat Matt Little and Republican Eric Pratt differed sharply over the approach to the Iran war, the healthcare system, data center regulation and even whether they had worked in concert in the past. Little, a former state Senator, went on the offensive early, trying to tie Pratt to President Donald Trump. “Now he’s a nice guy,” Little said of Pratt. “He doesn’t sound like Trump but his politics are one of quiet extremism.” Pratt said that characterization was “just silliness” saying he’s an independent voice. “I know how to work across the aisle and how to get things done,” Pratt said. Pratt is a four-term Republican state senator from Prior Lake and a past school board member; Little served as a Democratic senator for a single term ending in early 2021 and was a mayor prior to that. The two are battling it out in the only open Congressional seat in the state. Unlike past races in the historically purple district, this race has attracted little national attention and outside spending.

As Minnesota well knows, threats of violence can turn into far worse. The New York Times released a compelling yet saddening report yesterday on the surge of scare tactics and incidents aimed at elected officials at all levels and of both parties. Gov. Tim Walz told the newspaper he questioned his resolve after the assassination of Melissa and Mark Hortman, saying it erased the joy of doing the job alongside a dear friend. He also said his daughter, Hope, has received threats including photographs taken outside the place she lives. The threats have continued, with people who lodged them toward Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and House Speaker Lisa Demuth pleading guilty in recent months to felonies for violent messages they left. Minnesota is among the states to give officials and candidates greater access to funds they can use toward security, but most go about their days without a visible detail.