Bachmann, Graves debate in St. Cloud

In a feisty hour-long debate, 6th District U.S. Congressional candidates Michele Bachmann (R-Stillwater) and challenger Jim Graves drew an audience of nearly 500 people to the River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud. The debate was moderated by St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce President Teresa Bohnen. The two candidates indulged in a verbal war of words, with Bachmann accusing Graves of being a tax-and-spend liberal and Graves accusing Bachmann of not representing the people of her district. Among the topics were a bridge near Stillwater that Bachmann fought for and that Graves calls too expensive; how to maintain Social Security and Medicare; and ObamaCare, which Bachmann wants to repeal and which Graves favors as a step in the right direction toward health care for all.