Technical Issues, Limited Media Rights Plague Gubernatorial Debate

ROCHESTER, MN — Gov. Tim Walz and Republican challenger Scott Jensen faced off Wednesday night in their first and likely only televised debate.

But the debate was not aired anywhere in the Twin Cities metro area, home to 3.16 million Minnesotans.

KTTC, NBC's affiliate station in Rochester, hosted the debate. About five hours before the debate, KTTC revoked permission for other outlets to stream, a "reversal from last Thursday’s guidance," said Fox 9's Mike Durkin.

Metro residents could watch the debate over a KTTC Youtube live stream. But when the debate started, there was no audio for nearly nine minutes, except for 10 seconds of a sudden high-pitched screeching noise.

People watching the live stream missed out on the debate intro and both candidates' responses on the abortion issue.

In a statement to Patch, KTTC News Director Michael Oder said that "KTTC clarified the restrictions on using our signal to media partners requesting to cover the debate on Tuesday. An embeddable YouTube link was sent to media outlets looking to carry the debate on their digital platforms."

As for the audio issues, Oder said that "an unforeseen audio issue occurred at the start of the debate but was quickly identified and fixed. The audio issue only affected the embeddable YouTube link. Those watching on TV and through the streaming platforms of Gray Television stations airing the debate had no audio issues."

Because Walz has not agreed to participate in any other debates — in the metro or elsewhere — Tuesday night's debate will likely be the last before Election Day.

The only other time the candidates faced off in person was on Aug. 3 at the Farm Fest, which was not televised.

Tuesday's technical issues sparked a discussion among journalists and others about convening a nonpartisan debate council in Minnesota. Walz told WCCO in an interview Wednesday morning that he supports creating such a council.

If you missed any portion of Tuesday's debate, KTTC has a recording with full audio here.

Patch has reached out to KTTC for comment.