While back I wrote about the GOP’s scheme to turn Minnesota red by organizing in rural areas, and I had to admit that they had a workable plan… But was the GOP serious? Since then the GOP even though we’re over a year out from the 2020 elections has hired around 20 campaign staff, four times the DFL’s crew. I’m hearing from DFL (Democratic Farmer Labor) party activists in rural Minnesota that they’re even receiving GOP messaging encouraging them to register and vote GOP. And the MN DFL party leadership, tracking new voter registrations, has noted a surge of new registrations in rural GOP leaning areas of the state.
The state party’s response? Nothing! Nothing heard from D-Trip and DSCC either, even though they have threatened incumbents and rural districts they need to win back. Smugly confident after giving our electoral votes to democratic candidates for going on half a century, the party leadership thinks a GOP victory can’t happen here. That’s what they thought in Wisconsin…
But the GOP threat is real- Hillary carried Minnesota by only 45,000 votes, barely a 1% margin. The GOP almost took Minnesota even with voter turnout in many red counties below 70%, while deep blue Ramsey county had a 75% turnout and even bigger blue Hennepin county had an 81% turnout, and statewide turnout was 75%. The 3 most rural of Minnesota’s 8 congressional districts, the 1st, 7th, and 8th, had turnouts of only 68%, 66%, and 68% respectively. In the 7th CD alone the republicans by driving their turnout up to 80% can pick up around 25,000 votes and defeat democratic incumbent congress member Collin Peterson. Improving GOP turnout to 80% in CDs 1 and 8 will give the GOP an increase of another 40,000 votes, with CD7’s new GOP votes enough to take Minnesota’s 10 electoral votes and a congressional seat. Then figure in that CD2 and CD3 just barely elected DFL congress members, and they and CD6 have lots of rural counties with plenty of potential for the GOP to improve their turnout- We’re looking at the potential of 100,000 more GOP voters in 2020 and beyond.
Those 100,000 extra GOP voters will turn Minnesota red, and our state DFL party ain’t doin’ nuthin ‘ to match it!