 Well, a debate in Brainerd last night featured two contestants from a highly contested race in our area. Democrat Joe Rudinovich and Republican Pete Stauber faced off as part of their bid for the 8th congressional district seat. Our reporter Rachel Johnson has the story. Good evening and welcome everyone to the Brainerd Lake, Syria congressional debate. The nation is watching the 8th district congressional race this year between Pete Stauber and Joe Rudinovich. What happens in the 8th district could very well determine the balance of power in Washington. Rudinovich, a Democrat from Crosby, who has previously served as a state representative, is running against former police officer Pete Stauber, a Republican who comes from the Duluth area. I come from a family of minors, electricians, plumbers, pipers, and healthcare workers. Small business owner, police officer. The debate was moderated by Kevin Doran, a news anchor for KACP out of the cities who was originally from the Brainerd Lakes area. They debated and disagreed on many issues from healthcare. For no Washington Democrat gets into that sacred space between the patient and their doctor. The most productive and wealthiest country in the entire world it seems immoral to me that we can't figure out a way to provide healthcare for every citizen. To gun rights and the Second Amendment. I still support a Second Amendment, law abiding citizens, the right to keep the bare arms, to protect themselves. I support a ban on high capacity magazines, on bump stocks. I think that we should raise the age of purchase on those weapons to 21 years old. One of the hottest issues in the race for the 8th district, which includes the iron range and the boundary waters, is the issue of copper nickel mining, which they both say they support. We need to make sure that these projects can be evaluated fairly and that we can move forward with good, clear conscience and understanding that these companies are going to be held liable to the taxpayers of this state and not vice versa. You need to reverse the mining ban and let the process start. An economic boom. President Trump has previously campaigned for Stauber and some say this race is a reflection of the divide in national sentiment towards the Trump administration. The president has done some really good things and there's no perfect human being but look what he's done for the economy. I've got some you know deep misgivings frankly about President Trump and about and about the values that he represents in this country. The candidates both have a busy month ahead of them leading up to the general election. We have a good game plan and we're going to execute that game plan we're going to meet as many voters and do as many door-knocking sessions as we can. We're doing the only thing I've ever known how to do which is work hard right and we're so blessed to have so many people around us today that are helping us out in this in this you know fight for our democracy. We'll have to wait until November 6th to see who will win the race and take control of the 8th district. Reporting from Brainerd, Rachel Johnson, Lakeland News. The debate was put on by the Brainerd Lakes Chamber, the League of Women Voters of the Brainerd Lakes Area, the Rosenmeier Center and the Brainerd Dispatch. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.