Gov. Tim Walz, Candidate Scott Jensen To Debate At FarmFest Wednesday

REDWOOD FALLS, MN — Gov. Tim Walz and his Republican challenger, Scott Jensen, will face each other in a debate Wednesday hosted by Minnesota's Farmfest.

The candidate forum will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will be streamed live on the Farmfest website. The discussion will focus on issues facing rural Minnesotans.

According to an internal Republican poll, Walz leads Jensen by about 4 percentage points, 49.8 percent to 45.6 percent.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, abortion has remained a hot topic in the race for Minnesota's governor.

Jensen's running mate, former Minnesota Vikings player Matt Birk, drew criticism after saying that our current culture "loudly but also stealthily promotes abortion" by "telling women they should look a certain way, they should have careers."

The comments drew national attention, garnering coverage from Vanity Fair and The View.

After the comments, the Nook bar and restaurant in St. Paul decided to rename its burger that previously honored Birk.