Overview
- The race sharpened in the final debate Wednesday when Amy Klobuchar and Lisa Demuth traded blame over who is responsible for years of fraud and presented competing enforcement plans.
- Klobuchar proposes a top-to-bottom audit, regular in-person inspections and a 'do-not-pay' database to bar convicted fraudsters from state grants and contracts.
- Demuth vows to fire every state commissioner on day one, order unannounced site visits and crosscheck convicted offenders across programs to stop repeat fraud.
- The Legislature has already approved bipartisan measures that raise penalties, expand the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, add whistleblower protections, create a new Office of Inspector General and fund $75 million to modernize county and state technology.
- Voter concern is high—more than a quarter of likely voters name fixing fraud as a top issue—so the next governor’s choices on oversight, inspections and prosecutions could change how services are run and how quickly counties get technology and staffing help.