President Trump’s reelection campaign says it has reserved $14 million in air time in Minnesota between Labor Day and Election Day as polls show a tight race in a state that the Republican presidential nominee has not carried since 1972.
peaking on a conference call with reporters, Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said Minnesota represents one of the president’s best opportunities to expand the map in 2020.
“We’re going all-in on Minnesota,” Miller said. “We think it’s a state we can win.”
At a campaign rally for Trump’s reelection, Minnesota Iron Range mayors — Virginia Mayor Larry Cuffe, Chisholm Mayor John Champa, Ely Mayor Chuck Novak, Two Harbors Mayor Chris Swanson, Eveleth Mayor Robert Vlaisavljevich, and Babbitt Mayor Andrea Zupancich — endorsed Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for a second term in office.
The Democratic presidential winning streak in Minnesota is the longest in the country.
Trump Lands Major Endorsements From Democrat Mayors in Minnesota https://t.co/ZmZgqwlimn Thank you so much. I will never let you down!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2020
“The fact that Biden is spending one of his first above ground excursions in Minnesota shows he’s on defense,” said Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien. “That would be like our campaign scheduling a trip to the reddest state in the country. It shows how the president has changed the map and how Joe Biden and the Democrats’ radical policies aren’t playing in the Midwest like they used to.”
A Fox News poll from July found Biden ahead by 13 points in Minnesota. More recently, an Emerson survey from August found Biden ahead by 3 points, and a Trafalgar Group survey found Trump and Biden in a statistical tie.
Trump campaign 'going all-in' to win Minnesota https://t.co/rZzCAw5eqP
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) September 1, 2020
Vice President Pence visited Duluth on his first stop following the GOP convention last week, where he held an event to highlight endorsements from six Minnesota mayors hailing from the state’s Iron Range, some of whom are former Democrats.
Eveleth, Minn., Mayor Robert Vlaisavljevich, a former Democrat, spoke at the GOP convention, where he said Trump would be the best candidate to represent the state’s mining interests.
Democrat mayor of Virginia, Minnesota on why he endorsed President Trump:
Democrats "want to eliminate fracking, they want to eliminate hard rock mining expansion, they do not want to support any precious mineral mining—and that's the bread and butter of the Iron Range economy." pic.twitter.com/naT1Kk4aAy
— Jake Schneider (@jacobkschneider) September 1, 2020
The Trump campaign noted that if the president keeps Florida, Arizona and North Carolina in his column, Biden will have to run the board in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania to win the Electoral College.
“Democrats would have to shut us out and go four for four in those states, and I don’t think they can do it,” Miller said.
Meanwhile, the son of Minnesota’s attorney general recently said, “I hereby declare, officially, my support for ANTIFA’:
Son of Minnesota’s attorney general: 'I hereby declare, officially, my support for ANTIFA'https://t.co/PFjoRBo4DN
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 31, 2020