How did John Kerry win the upper midwest

[Da2017]

Like Michigan,Wisconsin,etc. He was branded as an elitist. Hillary could not hold on to those States.

[Matty]

His opponent was very pro free trade and very globalist

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

His opponent was very pro free trade and very globalist

Trump was the first non free trader nominee in decades.

[(Still) muted by Kalwejt until March 31]

It was interesting IA and OH were both to the Left of the popular vote in 2004. Kerry overperformed Gore in numerous parts of the North.

[Pericles]

Democrats had not yet collapsed with the white working class, still had support of labor, more support than Obama and Clinton and less focus on social issues.

[TonyP63]

As I recall he hardly won in Wisconsin

[Averroës Nix]

Kerry's margin in Wisconsin was small, at 0.4%, but it stands out less in comparison to his performance in other Midwestern states:
   
North Dakota -27.4
Kansas -25.4
South Dakota -21.5
Indiana -20.7
Missouri -7.2
Ohio -2.1
Iowa -0.7
Wisconsin +0.4
Minnesota +3.5
Pennsylvania +2.5
Michigan +3.4
Illinois +10.3

Remember also that Illinois is the only non-coastal state that Kerry won by a margin of more than 3-4 points.

Really amazing that Democrats convinced themselves that these represented a "blue wall" just because Obama won these states by historic margins twice - first against the party that had just wrecked the economy and lost a multi-trillion dollar war, and then against a retired venture capitalist from an esoteric religious sect running on a platform of radical wealth redistribution. 

[darklordoftech]

Maybe Kerry was simply seen as more competent than Bush?

[SenatorCouzens]

Millions of Democrats in this region voted for the Democratic Party solely because they felt it was better for the middle class than the Republican Party. This perception has eroded over time among key demographics in these states.

Also, the southern, evangelical, interventionist Bush wasn't the best type of Republican for the Great Lakes States.

[Samof94]

There were still more blue collar white Democrats back then than today.