Political analysts give last-minute take on Minnesota primaries: "Money matters"

The Minnesota primary is Tuesday, with the final barrage of political ads in overdrive and candidates making their final pitches.

One of the key battles is the Republican race for governor, featuring House Speaker Lisa Demuth and businessmen Mike Lindell and Kendall Qualls. The final days have featured a surge by Demuth, who polls show is still running second to frontrunner, presidential endorsee and now-former MyPillow CEO Lindell.

He has been collecting last-minute headlines, including attacks from his own party questioning his residency, and a probable cause finding by a judge that he violated campaign regulations by giving away pillows at parades. 

Meanwhile, GOP party-endorsed candidate Qualls continues his effort to win over supporters, but surveys have him in third place. 

Democratic political analyst Abou Amara and Republican analyst Amy Frederiksen were guests on WCCO Sunday Morning at 10:30 a.m.

"With this momentum and still 16% undecided, it's entirely possible that [Demuth] closes that gap," Frederiksen said.

In the governor's race on the Democratic side, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar faces no significant primary opposition. The latest fundraising figures show heading into November, Klobuchar is in a dominant position with $3.4 million cash on hand, compared to $543,000 for Demuth and $38,000 for Lindell.

In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic voters face the battle playing out in primaries across the country: the more centrist U.S. Rep. Angie Craig is facing off against progressive champion Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Craig has been able to flood airwaves with ads reflecting her strong cash-on-hand advantage over Flanagan: $3.3 million for Craig and $1 million for Flanagan.

"Money matters," Amara said. "Look, this is going to be a close race and it's going to be won on the margins, so spending on the margins as you are raising the consciousness of voters is going to matter, and Angie has an echo chamber of spending and I think that is marginally going to make a difference. It could be the reason she ultimately ends up winning on Tuesday."

On the Republican side for the Senate, surveys show sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya with a significant lead over two opponents: Adam Schwarze and Royce White.