By Edward Thoma

The Mankato Free Press

ROCHESTER — In sharp contrast to the contentious town halls Republicans are facing, 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz enjoyed a largely supportive crowd on Thursday night who cheered him on during his three-hour forum.

About 400 people packed the Hill Theatre at Rochester Community and Technical College, and most of them gave the congressman a standing ovation at the start of the event. One audience member even waved a sign that read, “Thank you.”

Two topics dominated the town hall discussion — health care and immigration. One woman asked Walz if he would support changes to the Affordable Care Act that get rid of a requirement that people with pre-existing coverage be able to get insurance or proposals that would make coverage unaffordable or inadequate.

Walz said he is willing to work with Republicans on a fix to “Obamacare.” But he said there are some things he will not support.

“Any suggestions to improve on making health care more affordable, more accessible and more responsive to the American public, I will vote for them. What I can not vote for is something that pulls off the protections with nothing to replace it,” Walz said.

The Mankato Democrat also was asked repeatedly about immigration. One woman questioned why Walz opposes Trump’s executive order that banned people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from traveling to the U.S. It also would bar Syrian refugees from coming into the country and temporarily block all other refugees. She said Minnesota has a serious terrorist recruitment problem.

Walz said national security concerns need to be taken seriously, but Trump’s approach was wrong.

“I don’t disagree you have every right to be concerned about national security, but you don’t do it in a reckless manner that demonizes an entire group of people. That’s not the way to do it,” Walz said.

The congressman also was asked about efforts to investigate Russian involvement in the 2016 election and connections between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Walz said he wholeheartedly supports a bipartisan, independent investigation into Russia’s role.

He added, “Whether you are Republican, Green, Democrat, Independent, what does it hurt to get answers to these things?”

During the town hall, Walz was asked if he would consider running for governor. The congressman replied, “Yes, I would consider that.”

Most of those who turned out for the town hall said they are concerned about Trump’s recent actions. Steve Grinnell, of Rochester, was among those standing during the packed town hall event. He said he is particularly concerned about the potential of people losing health care coverage and Republicans’ failure to put forward a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.

Grinnell added, “They have had eight years to come up with something better, and I haven’t seen anything better yet.”

—Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.