Candidates make final campaign push in Minnesota

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - In the final push to win over voters before election day, both President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden will be campaigning in Minnesota Friday.

Former Vice President Joe Biden announced he will be holding a drive-in event in St. Paul. He is expected to deliver remarks around 3:00p.m. This will be Biden’s second visit to the state, as he previously attended an event near Duluth.

President Donald Trump is expected to visit the Rochester area for a “Make America Great Again Victory Rally.” Doors will open at 2:00p.m. The visit will be the president’s fourth in Minnesota, previously having held events in Mankato, Bemidji and Duluth.

Minnesota has voted blue every presidential election season since 1976, although President Trump came close to flipping the state in 2016.

Four years ago, President Trump lost to candidate Hilary Clinton by less than 50,000 votes. Trump Campaign Senior Advisor Steve Cortes admits the campaign overlooked the state last election season.

“We hardly deployed any resources to Minnesota. We are not making that mistake again,” said Cortes. “We have been focusing on the state for months in terms of investing time, capital, and people on the ground.”

Democratic National Committee Deputy Communications Director Chris Meagher says he is optimistic for another Democratic victory in the state.

“We feel really good about Minnesota,” said Meagher. “There’s tremendous energy there.”

Even though many have already cast their ballots, University of Minnesota Political Professor Larry Jacobs says the state is still a toss-up in terms of the Presidential race.

“If you look at the actual margins of victory, they tend to be pretty small,” Jacobs adds.

In the final push, Jacobs says Biden’s team needs to make sure local voters don’t feel ignored. As for the President, Jacobs says, over the next few days, he needs to “gain ground” in urban areas.

“It’s certainly possible that Donald Trump will make a run and be able to get over the hurdle of 2016,” Jacobs said. “He’s going to have to gain ground because clearly the metropolitan areas and the suburbs, along with the urban core, have broken heavily for Joe Biden.”

Despite civil unrest and other social and economic issues, Jacobs says voters are looking for the candidate with the best plan to curb the coronavirus surge.

The polls will close Tuesday at 8p.m.

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