U.S. Senate Candidate Forum Taking Place Aug. 5 as Planned

EAGAN, Minn. Aug. 4, 2026 – IDEAg Group LLC., producer of Minnesota Farmfest, confirms that the U.S. Senate Candidate Forum will commence as planned on Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 1:15 p.m. Invited candidates Rep. Angie Craig, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Michele Tafoya and Royce White are slated to be in attendance. 

The candidates joining this forum were invited under objective criteria established in advance and posted on the Farmfest website. Candidates had to be legally qualified for the office on the ballot as the candidate of a party recognized by the State of Minnesota, and have obtained at least 15 percent level of support in recent independent public polling. Every candidate who met those criteria was invited to participate.  

This forum is hosted by Farmfest and sponsored by the Minnesota Foundation for Agriculture. It is nonpartisan and educational — the Event and Sponsor do not endorse, support, or oppose any candidate or political party. Each candidate will receive equal time to speak and respond, and questions are designed to be fair across all participants.

The Farmfest Forum lineup includes:

Tuesday, August 4 

10:30 a.m. U.S. Congressional Candidate Forum - MN 1st and 2nd Districts

Candidates – Rep. Brad Finstad, Jake Johnson, Rep. Kaela Berg, Sen. Matt Klein, Matt Little, Sen. Eric Pratt

1:15 p.m. U.S. Congressional Candidate Forum – MN 6th, 7th and 8th Districts

Candidates – Rep. Tom Emmer, Doug Chapin, Rep. Michelle Fischbach, Eric Osberg, Rep. Pete Stauber, Trina Swanson

Wednesday, August 5

10:30 a.m. Minnesota Governor Forum

Candidates – Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Rep. Lisa Demuth, Mike Lindell, Kendall Qualls

1:15 p.m. U.S. Senate Forum

Candidates – Rep. Angie Craig, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Michele Tafoya, Royce White 

In every even numbered year since 1990, Farmfest has featured candidate forums. The purpose of these forums is to provide the electorate with a nonpartisan, educational opportunity to compare the positions and qualifications of leading candidates for public office in a fair, orderly, and informative setting. These pre-primary Forums are focused on current agriculture and rural issues within Minnesota.

The Farmfest Forums will also be livestreamed on Farmfest.com. Minnesota Farmfest and the Farmfest Forum sponsor do not endorse, support, oppose, promote, or advance any candidate or political party in its staging of this event. 

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