Trump, Pence To Make Last-Minute Stops In Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Candidates are making their final push before Election Day, and Donald Trump will be making one last stop in Minnesota.
Officials with the Republican Party of Minnesota announced Saturday that Trump will be making an appearance in the state on Sunday. He is scheduled to have an event at the Sun Country Airlines hangar at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
The event is tentatively scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
Both Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will be making several stops all over the country leading up to Election Day to win over any remaining undecided voters.
Trump's running mate, Gov. Mike Pence, will also make a stop in Minnesota, appearing at the Duluth International Airport at 9:30 a.m. Monday.
Minnesota last voted for a Republican president in 1972 when Richard Nixon won in a landslide.
History is one of the reasons Hamline University political science professor David Schultz said presidential candidates rarely show up in Minnesota this close to an election.
He said past republican nominee for president Mitt Romney did visit Minnesota post-convention 2012 but that was also unusual.
"Part of the reason why Minnesota doesn't get visited, it's not viewed as a swing state. It's not a state that's really considered competitive," Schultz said. "And so the candidates go to places like where? Ohio, Florida, North Carolina."
Schultz called Trump's 2016 strategy a "Midwestern" strategy because he has been hoping to flip states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Trump's campaign spokesperson for Minnesota, Andy Post, said the campaign rearranged Trump's schedule last-minute to visit here because they are seeing tightening in the polls and Minnesota is "in play" at this point.
Several recent Minnesota polls show Clinton with a six or seven point lead over Trump.
"It is possible the Trump campaign has internal polls suggesting it's closer, thinking that perhaps maybe up in the Iron Range they can mobilize a lot of voters that'll help Trump," Schultz said.
But Schultz thinks it is more likely Trump's campaign landing in Minnesota is a move to the throw Clinton's campaign off course.
"It is really sort of a game of chess at this point and in the closing days if Trump makes a quick visit here he might then think that he can force Clinton to now have to come and visit here and therefore take away time or resources from visiting a state that really is in play such as, let's say, Ohio or Florida," Schultz said.
Anyone wishing to attend either event can request tickets through Trump's website.