In a Thursday night debate before the August primary, the two Minnesota Republican Senate candidates seeking their party’s nomination to challenge three-term U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar contrasted their versions of conservatism.

GOP-endorsed candidate Royce White, a former NBA basketball player turned right-wing media personality, and Joe Fraser, a political newcomer favored by members of the traditional party establishment, both said their top concerns were border security and addressing soaring national debt. Both expressed support for former President Donald Trump, though White tied himself to the populist, nationalist wing of the Republican Party.

The two candidates appeared in a debate Thursday night in St. Paul hosted by the Minnesota Federation of Republican Women and streamed online on conservative Minnesota news outlet Alpha News. MNFRW President Kelly Jahner Byrne was the moderator.

White won the Minnesota Republican party’s endorsement at the state party convention in a move that surprised many political observers and dismayed many traditional establishment Republicans.

Fraser had initially said he would not run against the endorsed candidate but changed his mind after the convention. At the beginning of the debate White noted that some had urged him not to participate as it could potentially undermine the endorsement process, but he ended up accepting.

“I’m such a competitor I can’t help myself,” he said.

In explaining his decision to remain in the race, Fraser said he believes the nominating process can’t get in the way of everyone having their voices heard.

“We had a small fraction of our party show up to our convention. That doesn’t represent the totality of the Republican Party in this state, it’s a fraction,” he said.

Fraser, a Navy veteran who now works in banking, said his experience qualifies him to help fight government waste.

“I fought with these bureaucrats,” he said. “I fought with them to try to make things much more efficient.”

White questioned the very legitimacy of the post-World War II liberal world order, calling it antithetical to conservative aims.

“You can’t have a country without a border. You can’t have a country $36 trillion in debt, but you also can’t have a country when you defend everybody else’s borders more than you do your own,” said White.

Both expressed favorable views of former President Donald Trump. Fraser said he endorsed Trump in February and has voted for him before. He said he believed America was rougher on Russia and China under the former President.

White described himself as “Ultra-MAGA.”

“I’m further right than Trump, I’m proud of it and I’m going to support him every step of the way,” he said, describing himself as the nationalist and populist wing of the right.

White said a big part of tackling the national debt would come from ending “forever wars” and curbing U.S. military interventionism. Fraser said he would go after “reckless spending,” like $114 million for diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the Department of Defense.

White said that proposed cut didn’t go far enough for eliminating waste and floated eliminating the FBI.

Candidates were asked how they plan to defeat Klobuchar in November. White said he would focus on courting Black and Hispanic voters in the Twin Cities metro by going door-to-door. Fraser said he would focus on winning in the Twin Cities suburbs.

For the first half of the debate, the candidates largely avoided taking direct shots at one another, but when asked about their stances on transgender issues, White criticized Fraser for including he/him pronouns on his LinkedIn profile.

“We’re going to have a United States senator that serves with peace through strength, that capitulates to the social pressure and norms of queer theory on their own social media page?” said White. “They’d have to shoot me in the head before I put he/him pronouns on my LinkedIn bio.”

Fraser said the inclusion of pronouns on his LinkedIn was not a matter of support for transgender ideas.

“I recognize that gender identity dysmorphia is a mental illness, and we need to be compassionate for people who suffer from it,” said Fraser. “But that doesn’t mean that we need to force that on society and indoctrinate our children into it.”

Whoever wins the GOP primary on Aug. 13 faces a rough road ahead in the general election. Klobuchar, who was first elected to the Senate in 2006, comfortably won reelection in 2012 and 2018. She also enjoys a significant cash advantage over her potential GOP challengers.

No Republican has won a statewide election in Minnesota since 2006.

Related Articles

Minnesota’s minimum age of 21 to carry guns unconstitutional, appeals court rules

Joe Soucheray: Should Minnesotans take some measure of pride in our governor’s blossoming national profile?

Minnesota study finds fault with state agencies over pay adjustments

Dakota County Board selects first woman to serve in county’s top role

In lawsuit, Black pastors blame state, regional housing policies for increasing racial segregation