eric paulson professor david schultz. one of the ads that puts it on the map nationally. that is a very effective ad. they have avoided town halls and that's become an issue like both of locally. one of the things i told my students in talking about this. it is humor and satire. those are hard ads to respond to. what do you sort of come back in the terms of a counter ad. does become very hard to do. it's a very creative ad. back in the '90s. jesse ventura. did very creative ads and so. statewide these type of ads are very effective. what is interesting about the ads in this race. the ads are quite negative but what i have seen which is really interesting with eric paulson his campaign is actually doing a lot of the attack ads on dean phillips. as we know oftentimes they are done by outside groups. that is probably what they suggest and something internal pulse. suggesting things are very tight. the other thing i think is interesting about this race. again, go back to years ago. in a district that went plus 50,000. he went quite handily. two years ago, he had difficulties

this is a wall and it's kind of like eric paulson. and tonight you can't have a conversation with its like gun violence he voted 29 times to let people on the terrorist watch list get guns and even domestic abusers. he voted 98% of the time with donald trump and won't budge on that either. i approve this message. however you? >> what's behind that, explain that. >> representation is with the truck around the district and i listenelisten to people and thet common complaint in the conversation i have with people is the lack of the accessibility and ho however tom hall meeting until this very campaign one day it doesn't appear in public and it's one of only three debates in the closed environments. for the candidates to spend as much time in front of people as possible, and the fact that voters in the district hasn't had one opportunity to see the congressman engaged side-by-side being asked questions by people who wish to hear from us is a dereliction of duty. >> every one knows that i'm accessible, so whether it is the town hall meetin

lewis is running against democrat angie craig then it's the third district candidates republican eric paulson and democratic dean phillips. .. . >>. >>. >> welcome to a special night of congressional debate part of our put together initiative featuring reports and conversations exploring the values to underpin our democracy a special welcome to joining us on c-span and public radio we will be in a conversation with the two candidates from the second congressional district. >> here is a quick geography lesson include the twin cities south and east and egan to the north bell plane to the west incumbent republican jason lewis is challenged by democrat angie craig and they are with us in the studio. >> we call this a debate really it is a discussion opening or closing statements or no flips to determine the order of anything. two years ago the republicans were elected to congress and angie craig is the democrat executive who lost to jason lewis in the same matchup two years ago welcome to both of yo you. >> it's a pleasure. >> in 2016 on minnesota public radio you quoted the imperial presidency.

then eric paulson comes along. i mean, how can you have tens of thousands of people looking for you all the time and not one of them find you? i started to wonder. did erik paulsen really exist? >> the most likely place to find him is at a big pharmaceutical company. so take it from me, big foot. erik paulsen really exists. >> i mean, it's good. . i think it's funny. it's well done. >> it's well done. it's very clever. the problem is i never really had big foot for a conspiracy theorist. to be honest, i don't believe him. i don't think the congressman exists. >> the ad's weird for a couple of reasons. you make an important point. they're trying to say here's an incumbent who's down with special interests, but it's big foot who is pushing the conspiracy. >> yes, yeah. to be honest, hey, listen i get what they were doing. from a comedy standpoint, i think it's, you know, okay. from a political standpoint, i'm not sure. i'm not sure if you get the point. >> you're not sure if they landed it? >> i like it because you'r

featuring candidates in the second and third congressional districts.jason lewis versus angie craig, eric paulson and dean phillips. then we will profile the senate race contrasting amy klobuchar and jim newberg. >> activists are gearing up for a high-stakes election. we will talk to the candidates in the other u.s. senate race. >> i really focused right now on the 2018 election. >> i'm 100 percent minnesota. that's who i am. >> that's coming up on almanac.♪ ♪ [music] ♪ [music] ♪ almanac is made possible by members of this public television station. support is also provided by great river energy. providing electricity and related services to 28 co-ops in minnesota. -- producing transportation fuels for minnesota in the upper midwest at its rosemont refinery. house partners, where 60 years of experience helping members achieve well-being close to health partners is your trusted medicare partner. delta dental of minnesota foundation making dental care possible for minnesotans in need. -- one of the top philanthropists in minnesota and the largest travel donor in america. and education minnesota the

lewis is running against democrat angie craig then it's the third district candidates republican eric paulsonnd democratic dean phillips.

paul: i remember eric paulson, came to see us and he said it sure would and he's in a tough race.dan, what do you think? >> well, i think this immigration is becoming a liability for democrats. oh, yeah, i think that donald trump did not create this 4,000 person honduran caravan coming up from honduras, right? nobody seems to understand what happens with these caravans, now that mÉxico is actually calling in the united nations to try to help them resolve it. paul: seeking refugee status presumably, right? >> yeah, you know, the president of honduras himself claims left-wing opponents are creating caravans to embarrass him and the head of border patrol was down there a couple of weeks ago, he could not figure out what was going on in honduras. paul: so you -- >> the caravans are coming and somebody has to do something about it. paul: to the extent that trump focuses on caravans and can't have borders run willy nilly, that helps republicans. >> because the democrats are in favor of sanctuary cities which is basically doing nothing, they want to abolish the custom -- ice, immigration

take it from me, big foot, eric paulson really exists. >> i think it's good.t's well done. >> it's well done. it's very clever. the problem is i never really pegged big foot for a conspiracy theorists and to be honest, i don't believe him. yo i don't think the congressman exists. >> they are trying to say here is a congressman down with special sbrinterests but it's b foot pushing it. >> i get what they were doing. from a comedy standpoint, i think it's okay. from a political standpoint, i'm not sure. s >> you're not sure they landed. >> you're in the pocket of big interest or special interest. the thing we hear all the time is talking point that's heard from both sides and this is an original way to package it. >> you like how original it is. >> samuel l. jackson on kitty litter duty. this is for democrat in minnesota. >> this isn't just a kitty commode this is angie's kitty commode. she's busy making sure the people in her district know she's going to fight for them which is why i'm here scooping out bits of kitty treasure for her. it's really important that

time we went to minnesota's third congressional district where five-term republican incumbent eric paulsonemocratic challenger businessman dean phillips. we spoke to five women from this district, an independent voter turned fired up democrat, two women who previously voted for paulson, now voting for phillips, a self described conservative democrat, and a staunch supporter of president trump. here is part one of our conversation. >> in one word or one sentence, what is the number one thing driving you to vote this election cycle? >> truth. >> the economy and just better families. >> accurate representation. >> my number one issue really right now is health care. >> change. >> what is at stake? how important is the midterm election? >> it is the election of our lifetime, i feel. with this current administration, i feel the policies and the agenda are utterly alarming for our environment, for our long-term financial health. i have two children and i do not, i am not comfortable with the amount of debt that we are accruing with this tax break, i just don't understand why you would jeopardize

eric paulson in minnesota. >> walking away. >> that's right. >> not that they're doing well but republicanscan't win. >> right. we haven't necessarily seen republicans pull the plug on people like mimi walters in california. >> you don't get that. they probably should? >> keep in mind that republicans have to preserve some kind of path to hold their losses under 23 seats so they have to pick and choose their battles even in places where they might be down a point or two. >> what about the democrats? anything that they're stretching too much for and they should be -- no. concentrate on iowa 1 or iowa 3? >> yeah. they're looking a couple districts they thought they might have had in the bag but maybe don't. florida 27 is an example of that where donna shalala's to be the second oldest freshman in congressional history and a non spanish speaker in a district 76% hispanic. that means democrats haven't yet locked that seat down. iowa's first district. 28-year-old state legislator. by 15 points trailing last month. that's a district that may have gotten closer in the wake of brett kavanaugh. repu

in the minneapolis suburb, republican congressman eric paulson is struggling to hang on. congressman won by double digits in 2016. >> i've gotten things signed into law. >> reporter: now paulson's opponent, democrat dean phillips, is betting voters want something different this year. >> i'll say that there's -- the winds of change are blowing. >> reporter: phillips, a wealthy salesman, drives around the district in this vintage milk truck. >> hey. >> reporter: made in 1960, the last time a democrat held this congressional seat. why do you think that you have so much of a shot of winning this after so many years? >> i'm on a mission to build a bigger tent, celebrate the best of democratic principles. >> reporter: the first-time candidate inspired to run for office after president trump won. >> i'm disappointed in how he acts. i was frankly appalled by the outcome of that last election. >> reporter: if phillips wins, it will be because of swing voters like karen jensen who plans to vote against paulson, a republican. >> he is aligning so much with the trump administration a

in the minneapolis suburbs, eric paulson is struggling to hang on the five-term congressman won by double-digitsp lost here. >> regardless whether it's president obama or president trump, i've gotten things signed into law. >> now paulson's opponent, democrat dean phillips is betting voters want something different this year. >> i'll say that the winds of change are blowing. >> phillips a wealthy enchilada salesman drives around the district in this vintage milk truck made in 1960, the last time a democrat held this congressional seat. >> why do you think that you have so much of a shot of winning after so many years? >> i'm on a mission to build a bigger tent, to celebrate the best of the republican principles and democrat principles. >> the first time candidate inspired to run for office after president trump won. >> what do you think of president trump? >> i'm disappointed in how he acts. i was frankly appalled by the outcome of that last election. >> if phillips wins, it will be because of swing voters like karen jensen who plans to vote against paulson, the republican. >> his aligning so mu

. >> one of the republicans is running with the president, the other is not, ngressman eric paulson in suburb not running with the president and ngressman jason lewis said yeah, i like what he is doing. maybe don't always like his style but he says his policies are working it really deends where you are in minnesota. >> woodff: so interesting get this picture of the whole country, finally to you sct shaffer, we know the president plays a different roll inia califo he is not as pop ar as is he in some other parts of the country but there are parts of yo state where he is. a >>bsolutely. donald trump won 28 or so of california's 53 counties t i just that a lot of people don't live there. but in these competitive races, thstricts we're talking about, donald trump is not particularly popular and the candidate, the republicans are not mentioning him, president tomp is not coming out here campaign or raise money. he's going to nevada, next door, arizona but not toalifornia. i think they decided it is notve helpful to him out here t will only turn out the democratic vote more. we have seen ob

featuring candidates in the second and third congressional districts.jason lewis versus angie craig, eric paulson dean phillips. then we will profile the senate race contrasting amy klobuchar and jim newberg. >> activists are gearing up for a

paul, minneapolis, and you've got two republican congressman, jason lewis and eric paulson who are trying to hold on to their seats. and then another place is this deep red states where there's a big question of enthusiasm. and the democrats seem to have an edge in an enthusiasm gap, but the question is whether that enthusiasm actually translates to people showing up to the polls. so you have stacey abrams who's a democrat running for governor in georgia. and she is going around canvassing the state talking to every voter, not taking anyone for granted. then the senate side, same thing. beto o'rourke in texas who is is really hoping that he can talk to voters who haven't showed up in the polls the last few cycles and that they'll go and vote for them this fall. >> a new cbs news poll got released friday and one of the questions was rartding how voters processed the last year of politics. what did we see in that? >> we saw that voters are hopefully watching us. they're having the same conversations we are and talking about politics. and what the democrats and republicans are hoping is that

but what i've seen, which is really interesting with eric paulson, is his campaign is actually doing lot of those attack ads on dean phillips. that is unusual, because as we know, often times the attack ads are done by outside groups. that way the candidates can do a little bit of distance from them. that probably suggests something in terms of the internal polls from erik paulsen's campaign suggesting things are very tight. the other thing i think is interesting about this race, erik paulsen and dean phillips, is go back two years ago. in a district that went plus s0,000 clinton, paulsen win handily. he had difficulty two years ago in distancing himself from donald trump. dean phillips has run another very effective ad that shows donald trump and erik paulsen titling the canoe at the same time, literally putting them in the same boat together. it did not help erik paulsen a couple of days ago for donald trump to do the endorsement. he has been trying to distance himself. and his strength, erik paulsen, in terms of getting reelected in a district that is trailing democrat is to try t

eric paulsen really exists. >> what is the impact of that ad? >> those that is trying to drive home to 2 things, one is that congressman paulson has been inaccessible. developed arguing he doesn't hold townhall that if they are they are ticket only entry, hard to find him, people don't do what he is doing. the other is the money and politics message i was talking about and here you see big pharma. the pharmaceutical industry playing begin this message. the ideas he is out for himself, not in touch with his constituents. phillips is running on this message. his slogan is everyone is invited. he drives around in an old international harvester truck in minnesota's their district, he opens the side window and serves people coffee. the idea is to get the people in the community engaged in his campaign. some are more receptive than others but the bigfoot ad is a compelling way he thinks to get peoples attention and also convince people of the fact the paulsen is not as responsive as he could be of the congressman. >> eric paulsen's ad goes against his business dealings. >> you are not hearing that much of a difference in policy issues was a little bit on