Here’s five minutes of video from a press conference held today by Ashwin Madia, DFL candidate for U.S. Congress in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District. In this clip, Madia addresses the economy; Republican characterizations of his background as less well-suited to the district than that of his opponent, state Rep. Erik Paulsen; ads by outside groups attacking Paulsen that have been called inaccurate, and an incident in which a Madia campaign volunteer removed Paulsen signs from a public right-of-way.

After the news conference, two Republicans in the room — state party chair Ron Carey and state Sen. Geoff Michel — took the mic and, with reporters still present, offered their views on the tenor of the campaign, whether their assertions that Madia makes an inferior demographic match with the 3rd District have a racial or ethnic meaning, and other topics. Here is a six-minute video excerpt from their remarks:

In the video, Carey says:

Erik Paulsen … really fits the 3rd District so well, as one of them. And so people need to understand that there is a sharp contrast between the candidates. I think most people want to vote for somebody who can understand, they walk in their shoes and understands the issues that they face on a daily basis. And that’s Erik Paulsen, that’s very clear. When people look at [unintelligible: "it," "him," or "them"], behind all the rhetoric as to who really can understand and empathize [sic] the challenges that they’re facing. … It’s a very sharp contrast. … Erik Paulsen is a very good fit from a philosophical standpoint and a lifestyle standpoint … From a demographic standpoint Erik Paulsen fits the district very well. [emphasis added]