In Twin Cities suburbs, voters’ focus is on local issues

The suburban voters who could decide the presidential election and who, in Minnesota, will likely control which party gets the majority in the Legislature have concerns that don't quite line up with national campaign strategies.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are focusing their campaigns on abortion rights and immigration, but candidates who have up-close contact with suburban voters say these key constituencies are focused on more granular issues, from water quality and public safety to the classroom and cost of groceries.

Jen Fox, a DFLer running for the Legislature to represent District 41B, pets Dixie while talking with Linda Staloch while door knocking in Cottage Grove, Minn. in September. The district covers parts of Cottage Grove and Hastings. (Ayrton Breckenridge/The Minnesota Star Tribune) "Clean water comes up at the doors constantly," said Jen Fox, a DFLer running in House District 41B in Hastings and Cottage Grove against Republican Tom Dippel.

In the east and south metro communities hardest-hit by contamination from PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances often called forever chemicals — getting safe water and how to pay for it is one of the biggest issues for voters, both Fox and Dippel said.

Though some communities received funding from a settlement with 3M, others are left wondering how they will fund clean water as the plume of pollution spreads .

Dippel said he hears worries about how Hastings will fund water-filtration systems, as residents see their property tax bills rising already.

"We certainly need to be good stewards to the most fundamental thing to life, which is water," Dippel said, although he worries about paying for filtration.

Candidates in other close legislative races say they hear most about the cost of living and about education.