ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Ebola is becoming more than just a health issue as it moves to forefront of politics in Minnesota.
Republican Senate candidate Mike McFadden has repeatedly raised questions about the federal response and brought it up in debates with Democratic Sen. Al Franken. Meanwhile, as Gov. Mark Dayton wages his own re-election fight, he’s taken several steps aimed at readiness. Dayton announced Monday a new set of guidelines to monitor people who have recently traveled to West Africa.
“We’re eight days before an election and that’s why I’ve asked all of these distinguished men and women to come here today,” he said at a news conference with health professionals. “Because I don’t put much stock in anything any politician says eight days before an election, myself included.”
McFadden has been focusing heavily on the Ebola issue, in press conferences and debates, since the first case of the deadly disease surfaced in Dallas, Minnesota Public Radio News (https://bit.ly/1va4YXl ) reported.
“I get asked about it all the time on the campaign trail,” he said. “And the leadership out of Washington and from Al Franken has been very weak and lacking.”
McFadden is part of a group of Republicans from across the country who are pressuring the Obama administration to place a travel ban on people coming from the nations that have been hit worst by Ebola. Both Franken and Dayton have said Ebola should be addressed through more than just a travel ban.
“To suggest that everyone in this state and nation is not doing everything they possibly can do to protect every single American is just untrue,” Dayton said.
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Information from: Minnesota Public Radio News, https://www.mprnews.org
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