MINNEAPOLIS — Both major parties see Minnesota's 10 electoral votes as up for grabs in 2020, despite the fact that no Republican presidential candidate has captured the state since 1972.
It's one of the reasons former Vice President included the North Star State in a $280 million advertising reservation plan announced this week, for TV and digital advertising in 15 top battleground states.
President Trump has said he's determined to add Minnesota to his column, especially after coming with 45,000 votes of accomplishing that in 2016 with a tiny staff and very little spending. This time around, the coordinated campaign includes dozens of staffers and a much larger budget.
"The Trump Campaign has been here on the ground with staff the better part of a year. They claimed in July to already have 60,000 voter contacts," political analyst Steven Schier told KARE Thursday.
"The Biden campaign is just getting organized on the ground. They’re a bit late to the party."
Biden won the Minnesota presidential preference primary largely without campaigning here but benefited greatly from favorite daughter Amy Klobuchar's decision to exit the race the day before the election and throw her support to Biden at a rally in Texas.
The Trump team in Minnesota is touting an unprecedented ground game here to compliment the impact of advertising.
"While President Trump’s data-driven campaign has been recruiting and training an army of volunteers from Roseau to Rochester since 2016, Joe Biden’s been hiding from Minnesota families in his basement," Preya Samsundar, an RNC staffer attached to the Minnesota Trump Victory Campaign, said Thursday.
The Biden team disputed the idea that they've fallen behind in Minnesota. They say much of the organizing effort has been done through online avenues due impact the COVID-19 crisis has had on traditional door-knocking and campaign rallies.
"We are building an incredible organization in Minnesota that has already reached out to hundreds of thousands of voters and recruited an army of volunteers this year," Biden Minnesota campaign senior adviser Corey Day said in a prepared statement.
Schier said one challenge for the Biden campaign in Minnesota will be erasing what appears to be an "enthusiasm gap" in the presidential race.
"Trump supporters appear to be very excited about their candidate, whereas much of Biden's support comes from people who more anti-Trump than they are pro-Biden," Schier remarked.
In fact, unofficial Trump merchandise retail pop-up stores, branded as "The Trump Shop," are showing up in towns across the state. Derek Allen of Showtime Novelties said he's looking to capitalize on what he expects will be a red wave in Minnesota.
He said many of the people working for him would normally be selling cotton candy and mini donuts at Target Field this summer, but have switched to The Trump Store because fans can't go to games.
