THE BRODCAST

Welcome back to THE BRODCAST.Eleven days out, Michael Brodkorb and Billy Grant break down what was likely the final debate between Senator Amy Klobuchar and Speaker Lisa Demuth, held Wednesday night in Rochester and hosted by FOX 9 and Gray Media. It followed a more collegial business forum in Brainerd on Monday.Both campaigns came in with a frame. Demuth cast Klobuchar as “Walz’s third term.” Klobuchar cast Demuth as a Trump “rubber stamp.” Billy says neither landed hard, and that a third-term attack struggles against a candidate with a brand as distinct as Klobuchar’s. Then he and Michael split on a bigger question: would Tim Walz have won a third term? Michael thinks Walz would have been favored. Billy says no, and argues Walz’s numbers held up only because of years of friendly local coverage.On abortion, Billy’s advice to Republicans is blunt: get out of the defensive crouch and go on offense. The pair also credit both candidates for the debate’s most human moment, when Klobuchar and Demuth each spoke about surviving cancer.The verdict: the debate didn’t move the race. Demuth needed a moment to close a roughly nine-point gap. She didn’t get one.Michael and Billy then go inside debate prep: briefing books, mock debates, attack lines and counters, and the three goals every campaign brings to the stage—no new negative story, one clip, and a closing that matches the paid media. The front-runner preps to avoid a mistake. The challenger preps to force one. Billy explains why there’s no cookie-cutter playbook, delivers a hot take on why candidates should debate standing up (sorry, Almanac couch), and both agree female candidates face a double standard in how their debate performances are judged.The final segment covers what happened 24 hours after the debate. Jackie Flavin and Mike Moyski, whose 10-year-old daughter Harper was killed in the August 2025 shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School, endorsed Klobuchar and appeared in a new ad accusing Demuth of breaking a promise to allow a floor vote on gun legislation. Demuth says she kept her word. Michael, a Second Amendment supporter with a carry permit, argues the story isn’t about guns. It’s about character. Billy says the Demuth campaign could have built the same kind of closing argument months ago and never did.They close with what they’re watching in the final 11 days: closing messages, late spending, and what comes next.IN THIS EPISODE00:00 Opening00:25 Welcome to THE BRODCAST00:38 Eleven days out: the last debate02:58 Walz’s third term vs. Trump rubber stamp08:45 Would Walz have won a third term?10:25 Abortion: go on offense17:00 A human moment on the debate stage21:20 Did the debate move the race?26:40 Inside debate prep30:00 No cookie-cutter playbook33:55 Stand up and burn the couch37:00 Klobuchar hasn’t lost a step38:00 The double standard for female candidates44:15 The Annunciation endorsement48:45 What the Demuth campaign missed53:20 It’s not about guns. It’s about character.55:00 What we’re watching in the final 11 days57:00 ClosingWatch the full episode on YouTube.Michael Brodkorb and Billy Grant host THE BRODCAST.Politics. Power. What’s next?Subscribe to THE BRODCAST wherever you get your podcasts, and on YouTube, for new episodes, clips, and conversations. Get full access to On The Record with Michael Brodkorb at michaelbrodkorb.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to THE BRODCAST.With less than three weeks until Election Day, Michael Brodkorb and Billy Grant dig into a week of new Minnesota polling from KSTP, the Star Tribune, and Morning Consult.In the governor’s race, the polls tell the same story: Senator Amy Klobuchar leads Speaker Lisa Demuth by seven to nine points. The Senate race is tighter, with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan ahead of Michele Tafoya by three to four. Down the ballot, the attorney general’s race is within a point, and the state auditor’s race has flipped since September. Billy argues that the auditor result is the purest read on the political environment.His rule for listeners: follow the trend lines, not the single poll.The segment, Spot Check, takes on the question of the week:Is Michele Tafoya’s “pro-choice Republican” ad a strategy or a costume?Billy says Tafoya grabbed a “fence issue” Republicans can’t win on, and he wants Minnesota Republicans to retire the “independent voice” line for good. Michael, a pro-choice “homeless Republican,” says the problem isn’t her position but the timing and authenticity behind it. He explains why her “muddled” stance on abortion leaves her trusted by neither side. Both agree her ad featuring Democrats voting for her is the stronger spot.In the final segment, Michael and Billy explain what campaigns actually do in the last weeks: find your voters, bank them, move the few you can, and avoid the late mistake. They cover the intensity gap, why Billy would run on “crime, crime, crime, public safety,” whether lawn signs vote, and Billy’s best opposition-research yard sign story from Arizona. They also condemn the disruption at the Minnesota GOP’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner, though they disagree on whether to call it a protest or a riot.IN THIS EPISODE00:00 Opening00:22 Welcome to THE BRODCAST00:54 Governor’s race: Klobuchar vs. Demuth03:08 Senate race: Flanagan vs. Tafoya04:49 Attorney general’s race06:06 State auditor: the purest read on the environment07:31 Star Tribune and Morning Consult polls10:04 Follow the trends, not one poll12:09 Why polling has gotten harder15:11 What bad polls do to a campaign17:01 Spot Check: Tafoya’s pro-choice ad21:31 Apollo 13 and campaign sequencing25:09 The Democrats-for-Tafoya ad26:22 Tafoya’s muddled position on abortion36:08 The four jobs of the final weeks40:05 The intensity gap42:55 Crime, crime, crime, public safety44:01 Emotions, sleep, and silly season46:52 Do lawn signs vote?50:47 The Lincoln Reagan Dinner protest51:58 Billy’s Arizona yard sign story53:33 Political violence has to stop55:33 Vote earlyWatch the full episode on YouTube.Michael Brodkorb and Billy Grant host THE BRODCAST.Politics. Power. What’s next?Subscribe to THE BRODCAST wherever you get your podcasts, and on YouTube, for new episodes, clips, and conversations. Get full access to On The Record with Michael Brodkorb at michaelbrodkorb.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to THE BRODCAST.Episode three brings the show’s first guest, and it was recorded on a day when the news would not wait.Hours before Michael Brodkorb and Billy Grant sat down with State Rep. Max Rymer (R-North Branch), the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota announced charges against an 18-year-old accused of planning a mass shooting at the Mall of America. The arrest followed a week of gang-related gunfire in Edina, Eden Prairie, and Bloomington, including a shooting outside the Eden Prairie homecoming game.That sets up the question now hanging over every Minnesota race:Does public safety change the dynamics less than a month before the election?Rymer, a first-term legislator from Chisago County who ran Scott Jensen’s 2022 campaign for governor, describes what the 67-67 House looked like from the inside. He explains how the DFL’s position on fraud shifted from denial to “it happens everywhere” to “we always cared,” why his bill on local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement hit a wall, and why he thinks Minnesota may be heading toward a “blue state revolt.”After the interview, Michael and Billy walk through the criminal complaint, the FBI’s 21-month investigation, and the parents who rebuffed agents’ warnings while their son was still a minor. They debate how candidates should confront Somali gang violence without painting an entire community, why Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s December video has become a political liability, and why Michael gave Amy Klobuchar’s campaign an A+ for how fast it responded.But they don’t fully agree. Michael, a self-described “homeless Republican” who has never voted for Donald Trump and plans to split his ticket, makes the case for divided government. Billy says Republican candidates should talk only about public safety for the final four weeks.IN THIS EPISODE00:00 Opening00:27 Welcome to THE BRODCAST00:56 Our first guest: Rep. Max Rymer01:55 The Mall of America plot and what it means 27 days out04:20 What Republican candidates are missing07:10 Has Minnesota’s compassion made us soft?11:19 Fraud: from denial to “we always cared”14:50 Taxes, HF 16, and hitting a brick wall in a tied House21:11 A “blue state revolt” in Minnesota?26:13 Billy: run the ads29:35 Debrief on our first interview31:27 Homeless Republican vs. Mr. MAGA on divided government32:44 Inside the Mall of America criminal complaint42:56 The FBI’s warning to parents45:56 A week of shootings in Edina, Eden Prairie, and Bloomington47:22 Mary Moriarty’s video and “a masterclass in gaslighting”49:18 How Trump broke brains on the left56:09 Klobuchar’s fast response57:04 How Billy would run this race59:11 What we’re watchingMichael Brodkorb and Billy Grant host THE BRODCAST.Politics. Power. What’s next?Subscribe to THE BRODCAST wherever you get your podcasts and follow the show for new episodes, clips, and conversations. Get full access to On The Record with Michael Brodkorb at michaelbrodkorb.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to THE BRODCAST.In Episode 2, Michael Brodkorb and Billy Grant take on a Star Tribune report about more Minnesota Republican candidates distancing themselves from Donald Trump, sparked by GOP governor nominee Lisa Demuth’s break with the president over the war in Iran.Billy, from the MAGA lane, rejects the premise that candidates should abandon ship when the polls get tough. Michael, a self-described homeless Republican, presses on what that strategy costs in a statewide race. Then they land on the question every candidate gets asked:Where do you disagree with your party?They break down why that question should never be a gotcha, why failing to answer it is a bigger fumble than the answer itself, and how a convention lit piece casting the Demuth campaign as the race’s MAGA enforcer is now showing up in Democratic attacks.Then the debut of SPOT CHECK, THE BRODCAST’s new campaign ad review. Michael and Billy grade Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s “Brad” welfare ad, which drew its loudest backlash from the right, and debate whether the real mistake was the casting or the decision to double down. They also review the Minnesota DFL’s new Short on Demuth, and Michael explains why GOP influencers posting convention literature online handed opposition researchers a gift.Finally, a new segment: FROM THE STANDS. Billy reports from the Dawg Pound for the Browns’ 21-18 win over Carolina, Michael previews the 3-0 Vikings hosting Miami on Sunday, and the two talk Vikings quarterbacks.IN THIS EPISODE00:00 Cold open00:29 Welcome to THE BRODCAST01:00 The big question: Minnesota Republicans and Trump02:07 Abandon ship or stay on message?05:37 Operation Metro Surge and the immigration balancing act06:17 The “MAGA cop” convention play10:03 “Where do you disagree with your party?”12:46 Demuth’s fumble14:06 SPOT CHECK debuts: Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s “Brad” ad16:00 Why “Brad” backfired with the right24:28 The real mistake: doubling down25:56 The DFL’s ad on Lisa Demuth28:35 Should we grade campaign ads?29:27 What the convention lit piece reveals35:06 Opposition research gold37:08 Way too online38:26 FROM THE STANDS: Billy in the Dawg Pound41:43 Vikings 3-0, Dolphins on deck42:15 The JJ McCarthy question45:24 What’s next for THE BRODCASTMichael Brodkorb and Billy Grant host THE BRODCAST.Politics. Power. What’s next?Subscribe to THE BRODCAST wherever you get your podcasts and follow the show for new episodes, clips, and conversations. Got a campaign ad you want graded on SPOT CHECK? Send it our way. Get full access to On The Record with Michael Brodkorb at michaelbrodkorb.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to THE BRODCAST.In the first episode, Michael Brodkorb and Billy Grant introduce the show, explain why two people who don’t always agree politically sat down together, and make the case for something increasingly rare in politics: honest disagreement without personal confrontation.Then they get to the big question:Is Minnesota immune from the national political environment?Michael and Billy examine the forces shaping the upcoming election, from voter enthusiasm and turnout operations to fundraising, campaign spending, messaging, affordability, fraud, and how national politics influences Minnesota races.They also discuss how campaigns identify vulnerabilities, respond to misinformation, and “inoculate” candidates before attacks take hold, and why the fundamentals of campaigning still matter even in an increasingly nationalized political environment.It’s the first conversation in what THE BRODCAST is designed to become: candid discussions about politics, campaigns, power, and the people and decisions shaping what happens next.IN THIS EPISODE00:00 — Welcome to THE BRODCAST01:19 — Who are Michael and Billy?06:55 — Why do a podcast with someone you disagree with?09:24 — Respectful disagreement in modern politics12:50 — The stakes of the upcoming election14:37 — National political trends vs. Minnesota17:09 — Reading election trends19:57 — Campaign messaging and the issues that matter23:55 — Is Minnesota immune from the national environment?29:55 — Turnout operations and campaign infrastructure35:29 — Fraud, misinformation, and campaign strategy43:20 — Media narratives, fundraising, and campaign spending48:32 — What’s next for THE BRODCASTMichael Brodkorb and Billy Grant host THE BRODCAST.Politics. Power. What’s next?Subscribe to THE BRODCAST wherever you get your podcasts and follow the show for new episodes, clips, and conversations. Get full access to On The Record with Michael Brodkorb at michaelbrodkorb.substack.com/subscribe