Good morning. Brace yourself for a barrage of campaign finance reports that are due today from federal race candidates.

In the runup to tomorrow’s U.S. Senate debate, we invited the candidates to talk more about pivotal moments in their life that led them to a high-stakes race. MPR News Politics Editor Brian Bakst, who will moderate the debate, met Democrat Peggy Flanagan and Republican Michele Tafoya at places of their choosing for on-camera interviews about their personal paths. Both were candid about challenges in their life and were eager to share moments of triumph. At our request, they brought photos and mementoes that speak to who they are and what they value. Don’t worry, you’ll hear plenty in Friday’s debate about their sharply contrasting visions for this state and the country. You can  find the Flanagan video here and watch the Tafoya video here. Both were adapted to radio stories that you can also find at mprnews.org. 

Another poll shows how tight the Senate race is. KSTP/SurveyUSA published its latest round of polling yesterday and found that Democrat Peggy Flanagan had support from 45 percent of those surveyed, while Republican Michele Tafoya had 42 percent. The survey had a 4.2 percent margin of error and nine percent of Minnesota voters polled said they were still undecided. Tomorrow will likely be the only head-to-head debate between the candidates and they’ll use the final two weeks ahead of Election Day to make final pitches to voters in ads and public events. 

Candidates for attorney general were also neck and neck in the KSTP/SurveyUSA poll. DFL Attorney General Keith Ellison picked up 45 percent while his GOP opponent garnered 44 percent support from those surveyed. Another 11 percent had yet to make up their minds. Other statewide races showed Democrats carrying larger margins. DFL governor candidate Amy Klobuchar had a seven-point edge over Republican Lisa Demuth while DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon had a six-point advantage over Republican Tad Jude. In the open state auditor’s race, Democrat Zack Filipovich led Republican Scott Jensen by one point with 14 percent of voters still undecided.

 

More outside money is trickling into the U.S. Senate race.  A group called Minnesota Forward that raised a half-million dollars in short order through five- and six-figure checks reserved time for 30-second spots to air during TV news programs and primetime game shows on Twin Cities stations. Public records associated with the reservations show they’re negative ads against Democratic nominee Peggy Flanagan. Federal Election Commission filings show the group put an initial $252,000 into broadcast ads after previously paying $200,000 for digital ads. The group has also been sending mail and text messages. The amounts aren’t large in comparison to targeted races in other states. But it will be worth watching to see if it’s the start of a late push by Republicans to aid Michele Tafoya, who has been polling close to Flanagan in recent independent polls. A Democratic-aligned group known as AB Pac put more than $1.2 million into pro-Flanagan billboards. The group is active in several states. Democrats are looking to hang onto the seat they’ve had since 2009 and their hopes of a majority would be damaged by a loss in Minnesota.

While Flanagan and Tafoya are taking up most of the oxygen in the race for the U.S. Senate, there are also three non-major party candidates on the ballot. Peter spoke with Libertarian candidate Rebecca Whiting, independent candidate Marisa Simonetti and write-in candidate Alycia Gruenhagen about what drew them to run in the race, what issues they are running on, and the uphill climb that candidates not backed by a major party face as they run for office. For all three, it's about getting to as many events as possible, campaigning as much as possible on social media, and — for some —talking up as many voters as you can during the Minnesota State Fair. 

Our latest installment of swingy state legislative races to watch takes us to the suburbs, where two first-term senators face rematches. Dana caught up with candidates in the races for Senate District 41, in the east metro, and 48, in the southwest metro. Sen. Judy Seeberger, DFL-Afton, is again facing off with Tom Dippel, now a state representative. And Sen. Julia Coleman will compete against Democrat and psychologist Dan Kessler. Democrats are spending to hold Seeberger’s seat and flip Coleman’s. Meanwhile, Republicans see a key pickup opportunity in Seeberger’s district where both House districts within are held by Republicans. As with many contests up and down the ballot, candidates are hearing about affordability and fraud and pitching different plans to address voter concerns. You can check out the dispatch from the campaign trail here.

Another big blitz of ads is coming, from a group looking to sack the incumbent in the Minnesota attorney general’s race. The football metaphors are intentional because the Republican-aligned group, Minnesotans for Justice, is plunking down some pretty hefty amounts to air the ad during upcoming sports games. One 30-second spot on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” game featuring the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys is commanding $50,000. Early Timberwolves basketball games, also on NBC, will fetch $25,000 apiece. It underscores how outside group money won’t go as far with late purchases because those groups pay higher amounts than candidates. But it also goes to show just how expensive some top-of-the-ballot races will soon get. Minnesotans for Justice has already spent more than $2 million through mid-September entirely on this race.

Minnesotans have more than just politics on their minds, especially when it comes to the end of humanity. That Star Tribune/KARE poll published this week found a solid majority of Minnesota voters worry that artificial intelligence could someday destroy humanity. The Star Tribune reports 68% of those polled are very or somewhat concerned that advanced AI could bring about humanity’s destruction. Nearly a quarter are very concerned. And 71% favor government regulation of the industry, the kind of broad agreement that rarely shows up on anything in polls these days. The poll comes as some industry insiders have warned that AI is progressing too quickly without proper safeguards and a reliable off switch.