Coleman offered a more conservative direction on immigration than did Franken or the Independence Party candidates, arguing that enforcement has to come before establishment of a guest worker program. The others said that wasn’t a feasible approach.

“Let’s restore some sanity,” Barkley said. “We’re not going to deport 12 million people. That’s absurd — we couldn’t do that if we wanted to.”

FarmFest draws thousands of farmers and rural residents from around the region, and has become an expected stop for statewide political candidates every two years. Gene Engstrom, a crop farmer in nearby Morton, said he came to the event undecided but leaning toward Franken.

But he said he felt the Democrat spent too much time criticizing Coleman and not enough offering alternatives.

“The more I heard, the more confused I got,” said Engstrom, who said afterwards that he’s still undecided. “All this hammering — I want to know what you’re going to do when you’re senator.”