State Rep. Kurt Bills is the Minnesota Republican Party's pick to face U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the November election. The first-term Republican nabbed the endorsement to challenge the Democratic incumbent after two ballots at the Minnesota GOP Convention Friday in St. Cloud.

On Friday, Republicans are expected to endorse a candidate to run against DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Three are vying for the spot: Dan Severson, Pete Hegseth and Rep. Kurt Bills. MPR News this week examined what each of the candidates proposes to do about the nation's budget deficit.

Anthony Hernandez says he will challenge Democratic Congresswoman Betty McCollum rather than Sen. Klobuchar. Joe Arwood says the time and money involved in a campaign were more than he could take on. That still leaves State Rep. Dan Severson and Army Capt. Pete Hegseth as Republicans running against Klobuchar.

Allen Quist and Mike Parry are both seeking the GOP endorsement to run against Rep. Walz in November. Republicans will gather for their 1st District Convention in Mankato Saturday. Walz is seeking his fourth term in Washington.

As Capt. Pete Hegseth kicks off his campaign against U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, he may benefit from his fundraising work with the group Vets for Freedom. But it will be a long-shot fight against a Democrat who has some of the highest approval ratings in the country.

Bills is a first-term representative from Rosemount, where he teaches high school economics. He says he wants to bring Economics 101 to Washington. He joins two other Republicans hoping to be the party's challenger to U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.

After 23 rounds of voting, GOP delegates adjourned the 1st Congressional District endorsing convention without agreeing on a candidate to face U.S. Rep. Tim Walz this fall. Both Allen Quist and Mike Parry are seeking the GOP endorsement, but neither received the 60 percent of delegates needed for the endorsement. Republicans plan to try again at a second convention in the next few weeks.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar's challenger, State Rep. Kurt Bills, says he wants 10 or 12 debates before the November election. But the incumbent has agreed to only two so far. Some political analysts say Klobuchar's strategy is to ignore her opponent.