Minnesota Attorney General candidates Ellison and Schultz on abortion rights, crime

MINNEAPOLIS -- One of the most closely-watched races in Minnesota this year is for the position of Attorney General.

A recent poll showed incumbent Democrat Keith Ellison leading Republican newcomer Jim Schultz 46-40%.

Keith Ellison's four years as Attorney General includes the successful prosecution of former police officers Derek Chauvin and Kim Potter, winning lawsuits against big pharma and fiercely defending abortion rights.

"It's a significant issue in the lives of women," Ellison said. "People like Jim Schultz want to tell [a woman carrying an unviable fetus] what to do, they want to tell her, they want to be in the middle of her family decision-making process."

Schultz, who was a hedge fund attorney and is anti-abortion rights, say this should not be a campaign issue; the focus, according to him, needs to be on rising crime.

"We see on Minneapolis streets and streets in greater Minnesota and elsewhere extraordinary crime, an unprecedented increase in our state's history," Schultz said.

"You have Keith Ellison - the chief law enforcement officer in the state - who backed 'defund the police,'" Schultz said.

Ellison insists he never backed defunding the police. He did support the failed Minneapolis charter amendment, which would have replaced police with a Department of Public Safety. 

Schultz opposes gun control measures, which has earned him an "A" rating from the Minneapolis Gun Owners Caucus. The same group gives Ellison an "F."

Ellison's 2018 win marked the first time a Black candidate had won a statewide race. If Schultz wins, he would be the first Republican Attorney General in Minnesota since 1967.