Capitol View for October 17

Good morning. It was a heartbreaking last-second loss for the Minnesota Lynx in the first of two home games in the WNBA Finals, meaning they'd need to win another on the road to take the title.

Every federal office incumbent in Minnesota is up on their challenger in campaign cash, but some are off-the-charts ahead. In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic incumbent Amy Klobuchar entered the final stretch with 100 times more money in the bank — almost $5.3 million — than Republican nominee Royce White. The money raised so far and spent so far are also well in Klobuchar’s favor. Republican Rep. Tom Emmer, the 6th District congressman, is the big money generator in the delegation and had $2.6 million in reserve. The only other incumbents with seven figures are Rep. Angie Craig, a 2nd District Democrat with $2.35 million at her disposal, and Rep. Pete Stauber, an 8th District Republican who had just shy of $1.2 million available. They have yawning advantages over their challengers — Joe Teirab in the 2nd and Jennifer Schultz in the 8th. Incumbency has its advantages. But newcomer Kelly Morrison, a state senator and Democratic nominee in the 3rd District, is also above the $1.1 million mark and has seemingly faced little financial competition from Republican Tad Jude.

One other way to measure how uncompetitive the U.S. Senate race has been: The statewide contest will almost certainly result in fewer advertising dollars spent than in the 2nd Congressional District. In the last few months, Klobuchar spent roughly $1.25 million on television, digital, billboards and other static ads. In the 2nd, incumbent DFLer Angie Craig was up to $2.6 million in ad spending on various platforms. Joe Teirab, the challenger in the 2nd, was under $300,000 in ad spending. For Republicans, the small amount Klobuchar has had to put to what is often a driving budget item should be worrisome. It has allowed her to invest in staff members and other boots-on-the-ground efforts that will be driving turnout for races up and down the ticket. The top of the ticket flat-out matters.

In the presidential race, there’s ample money to go around. And outside players aren’t being stingy with their money. NPR reports that tech business giant Elon Musk has dropped $75 million alone since May into a pro-Trump political action committee. Another donor, railroad heir Timothy Mellon, is in for $125 million. Among Democrats, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has put $19 million forward and other donors are above $10 million.

Vice President Kamala Harris will be in La Crosse, Wis. Thursday. She will hold a rally in La Crosse in the afternoon and Green Bay later Thursday night as both presidential campaigns seek to secure critical Wisconsin votes. Democrats probably have more riding on the outcome in one of their "blue wall" states. In August, former President Donald Trump visited La Crosse for a town hall event. It will mark Harris’ sixth visit to Wisconsin she began her run for president. Our Kyra Miles will be on scene.

If elected, Trump would be the oldest person to become president, but he’s not sharing health details. While there’s no requirement that candidates release health data, presidential nominees traditionally disclose medical records. But the 78-year-old Republican nominee refuses to disclose new details about his physical or mental health. There have been limited snapshots of his health over the last year; a memo from a White House physician describing a gunshot wound to his right ear after July’s assassination attempt, as well as a letter from Trump’s personal physician last November describing his “excellent health.” But Trump hasn’t disclosed information relating to blood pressure, weight or whether he has continued using previously prescribed medication for high cholesterol. The last thorough public report of Trump’s health came in 2019, when he was still president.

In an audio town hall with influential radio host Charlamagne tha God on Tuesday, Harris tried to appeal to Black male voters. The interview came at a crucial moment in her campaign, as polls show her struggling to cement the level of support she may need from Black men to win the White House. Harris defended her track record as a prosecutor, promoted her policies aimed at Black voters and said Trump was a threat to democracy. Harris took on claims about her record, including that as a prosecutor she targeted thousands of Black men for prosecution, something she called “simply not true.” When Charlamagne suggested that Trump’s vision for the country should be called facism, adding “Why can’t we just say it?” Harris answered with, “Yeah, we can say that.”