>
Article snippet: BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Democrats seeking to knock off Republican incumbents in two critical districts in the Twin City suburbs have put a dying art at the center of their campaigns: The town hall meeting. Dean Phillips, the Democrat challenging Rep. MORE, have pledged to hold regular town hall meetings if they are elected. Both say Paulsen and Lewis have largely avoided constituents in public settings during heated debates over repealing the Affordable Care Act and the Republican tax cut bill. If we win, say Phillips and Craig, constituents will have a chance to unload on us if they desire. Whether voters in Minnesota can be moved to back the two Democratic challengers over the GOP incumbents on the promise of more town hall meetings is unclear. But the town hall debate is reflective of a larger argument the two Democrats are making that has been embraced by other candidates across the country. They want to signal a return to civility and dialogue that has been lost in the Trump era. “People deserve to have a representative who listens, even to folks who may not agree with them,” Craig said. “I’m not running to represent Democrats or Republicans, I’m running to represent Minnesotans.” Winning the two seats is critical to Democratic hopes of retaking the House majority. Democrats need to gain 23 seats to put the GOP back into the minority. Paulsen represents a district that MORE won Lewis’s district by a single percentage point. “The respective challengers to L... Link to the full article to read more