Why was Minnesota so close this year?

[The Arizonan]

This is a state that hasn't gone Republican since 1972. Why was it so close this year?

[ApatheticAustrian]

rural populist state like IA...not?

and IA wasn't a close state for obama and also wasn't economically handicapped like OH.

[BaldEagle1991]

Lots of rural Minnesotans are conservative, they're the reason why Michelle Bachmann had a career.

Those same guys loved Donald Trump.

[Nyvin]

Part of the national trend of country-folk feeling left out of the "new system" where all the money is in urban areas.

[60+ GOP Seats After 2018 GUARANTEED]

People have already explained (rural conservatives) but I believe Trump would have won the state if he saw the internal polling earlier and went there a few more times. Wish he went there again instead of New Mexico near the end.

Winning Minnesota would've been a huge blow to the Democrats.

[Bismarck]

Lots of rural Minnesotans are conservative, they're the reason why Michelle Bachmann had a career.

Those same guys loved Donald Trump.

Didn't Bachman represent a suburban-exurban district?

[Kingpoleon]

1972: Arkansas has never gone Republican since 1872!!! How did it vote Republican this time?

[BaldEagle1991]

Lots of rural Minnesotans are conservative, they're the reason why Michelle Bachmann had a career.

Those same guys loved Donald Trump.

Didn't Bachman represent a suburban-exurban district?

She had a huge tract of rural areas.

[Nyvin]

Lots of rural Minnesotans are conservative, they're the reason why Michelle Bachmann had a career.

Those same guys loved Donald Trump.

Didn't Bachman represent a suburban-exurban district?

She had a huge tract of rural areas.

St Cloud isn't exactly "big city" either.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Lots of rural Minnesotans are conservative, they're the reason why Michelle Bachmann had a career.

Those same guys loved Donald Trump.

Didn't Bachman represent a suburban-exurban district?

She had a huge tract of rural areas.

She represented mostly suburban/exurban areas and St. Cloud, one of the largest cities in Minnesota outside of the Twin Cities.  The rural areas in between were by no means the majority of the district.

In the communities of interest, there are 3 rural districts, 2 urban districts, and 3 suburban/exurban districts.  1, 7, and 8 are rural.  4 and 5 are urban.  3 is suburban.  2 and 6 are hybrids of suburban/exurban with immediately adjacent rural areas. (She represented the 6th by the way.. which is far and away the most conservative district in the state... the 3 rural districts are all represented by DFLers)

[60+ GOP Seats After 2018 GUARANTEED]

Also if you look at its history,  Minnesota isn't as blue as it looks.

In 1984 it did go to Mondale (the only state to do so) but remember Mondale was FROM Minnesota and he still only won it by like 3,000 votes.

In 2000 Bush was 2 points from winning it, and in 2004 Bush was only 4 points from winning it.

Obama won it by only 7 points in 2012 - the same MOV as Wisconsin and 3 points less than his MOV in Michigan.

It's just blue enough to make it out of reach for Republicans, but Trump may have been able to win it if he saw the internal polling earlier and went there a bit more.

[rbt48]

Part of the national trend of country-folk feeling left out of the "new system" where all the money is in urban areas.

Certainly this.  

Rural, mostly white, non-college degreed voters swung heavily to Trump.  Also, not so heavy turnouts in Urban areas.  Similar pattern to PA, MI, WI, and IA.  Also, look at the Trump percentages in small town and rural areas from Texas through North Dakota.  The difference in Minnesota was that Clinton had enough of a margin from Minneapolis-St Paul to carry the state by about 45,000 votes.

I'm not sure just how the Republicans held the Minnesota House and managed to win the Minnesota State Senate.  These developments were a surprise to me (and a huge disappointment to the DFL, for sure).

[Coolface Sock #42069]

Obama was able to keep the rural areas of Minnesota close, while Trump demolished Clinton in those areas. Also, Trump probably did far better in the Iron Range than any Republican in at least 50 years, outright winning a few counties there and pushing the Dem margin in St. Louis County (Duluth) down from over 60 to 12.

[Mike67]

My personal opinion is the State of Minnesota could be very close to flipping just like Iowa,Pennsylvania,Ohio,Michigan and Wisconsin.

[Wisconsin+17]

Look at the counties. Minnesota for democrats is basically Minneapolis only now. They are definitely vulnerable. Trump with a few more votes could have won Maine, New Hampshire, Virginia and Minnesota, as well as Colorado, and Nevada. That would have been a blow out.

[ApatheticAustrian]

Look at the counties. Minnesota for democrats is basically Minneapolis only now. They are definitely vulnerable. Trump with a few more votes could have won Maine, New Hampshire, Virginia and Minnesota, as well as Colorado, and Nevada. That would have been a blow out.

i think you are mixing strange states here.

maine, NH and mn ......maaaaaaybe even NV...are possible but VA/CO seem to go into anti-trump directions, connected to his own style of politics.