Jan 10, 2026
6th District DFL Candidates compete for endorsement to challenge Rep. Tom Emmer
By Shay Lelonek / News Director
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Approximately 120 people gathered at the Great River Regional Library to watch the debate between Minnesota DFL Congressional District Six candidates in St. Cloud on Jan. 10.
DFL candidates Anson Amberson and Doug Chapin faced off in a debate at the Great River Regional Library for the endorsement to challenge Rep. Tom Emmer for Congress.
Recent events in Minnesota were topics of conversation during the event.
Before the debate started, moderator Mike Knaak, a retired managing editor for the St. Cloud Times, conducted a moment of silence to honor Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
Knaak asked the candidates what they believe is happening across Minnesota at the moment and how they have reacted to these events.
Chapin answered, “quite honestly … I think what’s happening is that the White House has decided to declare war on blue states, and Minnesota is the first battlefield.”
Chapin added that if elected, he would want to “slash ICE’s budget,” and ensure that ICE employees who are hired are qualified and fit to be in the field. Chapin said he has been out protesting with the community and is “ready to stand at a moment’s notice.”
Amberson answered, saying that after hearing about the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, he had spent the next 48 hours pursuing details of the incident. “I was not satisfied with the governor’s statement,” Amberson said.
Amberson said he is not waiting until he gets into Congress to act. He said he “took action immediately” and reached out to the governor, the Attorney General, and senators.
Other topics of conversation included cost of living, health care, and the use of military force.
Cost of Living
One of the questions Knaak asked the candidates was what their specific federal policy ideas are to lower the cost of living for families in this district.
Chapin started the discussion, saying he believes the federal government can “get out of the way.” He said the tariffs that President Trump has put in place have increased the cost of housing, which is “already unaffordable.”
If elected, Chapin said he would “fight like hell to make sure that it’s Congress and not the White House that decides what tariffs are put on consumers across the country.”
Chapin said the community needs to look for alternatives to the power sources that have always been used. He believes in nuclear power, solar farms, and wind farms as forms of green energy to help lower the cost of energy.
Amberson agreed with Chapin that the tariffs are problematic. “The tariffs that were … inflicted on the other nations that we trade with are also inflicted on us.”
Amberson also agreed that green energy needs to be used, as opposed to using coal, which is the primary source of energy, but “we also need options for people to be more efficient with their energy at home, like geothermal,” he said.
Health Care
A community member submitted a question online in advance of the debate, asking what specific ideas the candidates have to fix the healthcare system and how the candidates will protect Medicare and Medicaid from future cuts if elected.
Amberson answered first. He said some people who don’t have access to health care come to the emergency room as their preventative care, “and that’s just not an effective way to get health care.”
Amberson said that if elected, we would want to protect affordable health care and vote for measures to protect Medicare in the budget.
Chapin said that he would want to “break the grip insurance companies have on health care in this country.”
Chapin said he believes the government needs to raise the cap on Social Security taxes for billionaires so that more money is going into the budget.
Use of Military Force
Knaak asked the candidates when they believe military force is justified and what the biggest national security threat the United States is facing today is.
Chapin said he thinks the use of military force depends on national interest. “When there is an opportunity to address that interest by either promoting a friend or eliminating the threat, I think we definitely need to do that,” Chapin said.
Chapin believes the biggest threat to national security is the rise of autocracy and “the threat of dividing the world into big powers again.”
Amberson took a different approach. He said he’s a pacifist but understands “that there are times in history when military intervention is needed.”
Amberson said the United States should be working with allies when military intervention is necessary. He believes that intervention may be needed in Ukraine. “We should not be giving Russia a green pass to just continue mugging, mugging, and mugging that state,” Amberson said.
Amberson said that he thinks cyber threats are one of the primary threats to the U.S.
Candidate to Candidate Questions
Halfway through the debate, candidates were able to ask each other a question and provide 2-minute answers to the question they were asked.
Amberson brought up the topic of fostering trust between the parties. To which Chapin responded, saying, “I 100% agree that we need to foster trust, but … you can’t shake hands with somebody who’s slapping you, and that’s where we are in Congress right now.”
Chapin said that while he wants to find bipartisan support where the parties can, they should not “seek compromise for compromise sake … and when I get to Washington, I will be willing to trust, but that trust will have to be earned.”
Chapin then asked Amberson where he stands with reproductive rights for women and rights for LGBTQ+ people.
Amberson said that there’s “a nuance to both of those things.” He wants there to be a national standard for abortions. “We need to do so in a bipartisan way, to come up with a solid standard that will still allow access to abortion when appropriate,” Amberson said.
At the end of his 2-minute time, Ambersaon said, “When it comes to LGBTQ rights, we live in a nation where it’s okay to have different views.”
