Hennepin County Sheriff's race: impact of increasing crime

The Hennepin County Sheriffs Department is the leading law enforcement agency for the 1.2 million people in Hennepin County. Its 800 employees are in charge of court safety, the Hennepin County Jail and investigate major crimes. 

The two top vote getters from the August primary who advanced to the November election are Hennepin County Sheriffs Department Major Dawanna Witt, who got 57% of the vote, and former Morton Minnesota Police Chief Joseph Banks, who got 22% of the vote. 

These two face off in the November election, guaranteeing that the winner will be the first person of color to ever hold the position. We will start with Witt who should she prevail would also be the first woman to hold the job. (See video above.)

Her challenger Banks, is a former chief of the Upper Sioux Police, Lower Sioux Police and currently is a bail bondsman. Notably, Banks is the co-founder of the Twin Cities Recovery Project and a founding board member of Black Butterfly project. Banks believes visibility is key to address increasing crimes statewide.

Our analysts Abou Amara, a Democrat, and Amy Koch, a Republican, take a broader look at the issue of crime and how it's affecting statewide elections.

Make sure you tune in next week for a special hour long edition of Talking Points where we will be hearing from both major candidates for Governor, Governor Tim Walz and Dr. Scott Jensen.

Talking Points airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., live on CBS News Minnesota.