'The Trump Campaign Is Taking Minnesota Seriously'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- We are now 389 days away from the 2020 election, and Minnesota is having its moment in the campaign spotlight, according to University of Minnesota political science Professor Kathryn Pearson.
"It's clear both by this visit and the previous visit that President Trump made to Minnesota that the Trump campaign is taking Minnesota seriously," Pearson said.
She says Minnesotans should expect an unusual amount of political attention leading up to the 2020 presidential election.
"Minnesota has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1972, but nonetheless, the gap between the two parties is really narrowing at the presidential level," Pearson said.
We've seen the gap close over the last few election cycles. President Barack Obama won Minnesota in 2008 by a margin of 10 points, but Hilary Clinton won Minnesota in 2016 by a narrower margin – just 1.5 percentage points.
Pearson says all of this early attention from the Trump campaign signals that they're serious about Minnesota. She also says the deep divide between parties isn't going to disappear anytime soon.
"I think we will continue to see heightened partisan polarization, heightened party competition, and just the negativity coming from both parties throughout this entire campaign season, both in Minnesota and nationally," Pearson said.