The candidate who would oppose or defend President Donald Trump’s agenda has become a central theme in the race to replace Rep. Angie Craig in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District.

Democrat Matt Little, a former mayor of Lakeville, has drawn a firm line against Trump policies like tariffs, immigration policy and the war in Iran. He’s also warned that his Republican opponent, state Sen. Eric Pratt, would defend Trump’s agenda at every step if elected to Congress.

“Eric Pratt is going to fight for Donald Trump. I am going to fight for you,” Little said during their second debate Sunday on WCCO.

Pratt has been painting Little, who distinguished himself as the most progressive Democrat in a three-way primary, as “too extreme” and someone who aligns himself with the democratic socialist arm of the party, even though he does not.

“He wants to fight against Donald Trump. I want to fight for you,” Pratt said.

Two recent debates give Minnesotans the clearest window yet into how they would govern. Pratt pitched himself as the “common sense” candidate who listens to both sides before he makes a decision, while Little has shown he’s not afraid to pick a fight. During the debates Little regularly called out Pratt for providing “platitudes” instead of real policy ideas.

Here’s where they stand on key issues.

Pratt revealed Sunday that during last winter’s immigration crackdown he told the White House it needed to “back down” as the president ramped up federal enforcement actions in the state. Pratt’s admission was a stark contrast from Minnesota’s four Republicans in Congress, who did not challenge the administration publicly during Operation Metro Surge and have not spoken about what they may have done behind the scenes.

Without providing too many details, Pratt said that after Renee Good was fatally shot by federal agents in January he began reaching out to “decision makers on both sides of the aisle” to try to get them to “have a conversation.” However, Pratt acknowledged he needed to be “careful about what he said in public” during that time.

“There were a lot of mistakes made, but instead of going out and getting people to protest in the street and create chaos, I was focused on bringing calm,” Pratt said.

Pratt took aim at Little for recording videos on social media documenting his protests against ICE. Little stood by his approach and accused Pratt of having “secret, behind-closed-doors meetings, in which you won’t tell us what you did.”

“Two people in our state were murdered by federal agents that Donald Trump sent here for political purposes,” Little said.

If elected, Little said he would hold congressional hearings on ICE for what they did during Operation Metro Surge. “I guarantee you, someone is going to jail,” he said in the first debate.

Little opposes mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and said during an Access to Democracy debate earlier this month he thinks it is “irresponsible to allow a foreign mining company to come in here and rip up the Boundary Waters.”

Pratt said Sunday that President Joe Biden’s decision to remove mineral leases near the Boundary Waters “hurt the Iron Range.” But Pratt was more vague on where he stood, saying he believes the country needs more minerals and that the state permitting system ensures environmental protections on the area.

“We can have clean water and mining working together, supporting the Iron Range economy and helping people have great jobs to be able to raise their families,” Pratt said.

Little strongly opposes the war and thinks the United States needs to leave Iran “immediately.” Meanwhile, Pratt has stopped short of fully opposing the war, but his position on the conflict has evolved in recent weeks.

Pratt told the Minnesota Star Tribune in early September that he would not support the war powers resolution in Congress, a measure that would rein in Trump’s war, so long as the United States is in the conflict.

In recent debates, Pratt has struck a more resolved tone on the war.

“I support finding a way to end this conflict quickly, but in no way, shape, or form should we ever submit to a position where Iran is allowed to get a nuclear weapon,” Pratt said during the first debate.

On Sunday, Pratt said he thinks Congress “needs to be more involved in getting us into conflicts” and “rethink” the War Powers Act. However, he also said “stopping the funding in Iran is absolutely the wrong strategy at this point.”

Little says he is “100% against this tariff policy,” while Pratt has expressed his own opposition.

Pratt said in the first debate that he thinks Trump’s tariffs with Canada are “hurting Minnesota more than they are other states.”

“I will say that every president, Republican, Democrat, has used tariffs as a foreign policy tool, but I am one who believes in free trade, that we should have equal trade going back and forth,” Pratt said in the first debate. “We should allow our businesses to be more competitive on the global market.”

Little supports a one-year moratorium on data centers so that “cities and towns have the time to come up with their regulations.”

Pratt thinks such a pause “or any national ban on data centers is the wrong approach.” Earlier this month, Pratt said that decisions on data centers should be made “project by project” working with the local community.

On Sunday, Pratt said data centers that have received tax breaks should be allowed to keep them or run the risk of Minnesota losing out on capital investment.

Little said to fight fraud, the government needs to stop privatizing “core government functions.” He also thinks that federal funding “has to have conditions on it” so the money is tracked.

Little also thinks more grants are needed from the federal government to ensure government systems are updated “so it is efficient and effective.”

Meanwhile, Pratt said he supports putting together a congressional agency to look into fraud and install an inspector general.

“We need to have a function reporting to Congress that’s looking for fraud, waste and abuse, and can catch it before it hits $9 billion,” Pratt said during the first debate.

Little has been a vocal supporter of “Medicare for All,” while Pratt opposes that policy.

Instead, Pratt supports reducing mandates. He also is in favor of “plain language insurance policies” as well as pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform.

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