Trump and Vance campaign in Minnesota in bid to flip the state for the first time in five decades

Former President Donald Trump is set to campaign with his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), on Saturday evening in St. Cloud, Minnesota, a state he hopes to make competitive against Democrats.

The last time a Republican presidential candidate won Minnesota was in 1972 when Richard Nixon defeated George McGovern. However, Trump’s campaign has claimed that the state, along with former battleground state Virginia, are both in play this year.

Those claims were first made when President Joe Biden was still the presumptive Democratic nominee. After Biden’s announcement to exit the race, Vice President Kamala Harris appears to be the next Democratic nominee. The Trump campaign and allies, however, remain confident they can defeat Harris due to Trump’s popularity and with Vance, a midwestern, on the ticket.

“I think Donald Trump has a great chance of winning Minnesota in November because people recognize the choice is pretty easy,” Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) told NPR’s All Things Considered. “There’s a choice of opportunity or there’s a choice to go down the same road that’s been failing us for the last three and a half years.”

Vance’s past writing on working-class struggles could help him connect with blue-collar voters and convince them to defect from the Democratic Party. However, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) remains one of the top vice presidential candidates for the Harris campaign. If he were selected, the state would likely remain in Democratic hands due to the ongoing popularity of Walz.

When Biden was still leading the ticket, Walz had warned the state was in play. “I think that Democrats are concerned just because the stakes are so high, but I think what I would tell those pundits and a lot of times if you’re really freaking out it’s because you’re not on the ground doing the work,” Walz said in late May. “You’re not witnessing the 18 field offices opening up in Minnesota, the Biden-Harris campaign not taking Minnesota for granted. It’s going to be close out here. We’re not a given.”

In 2016, Trump lost the state by just 1.5 points to Hillary Clinton. Four years later, Trump lost the state by 7.2 points to Biden. A poll from Redfield & Wilton Strategies, in partnership with the Telegraph released on Thursday showed Harris leading Trump by three points, 44% vs 41%. However, the Trump campaign has dismissed several polls as a honeymoon stage for Harris who has only been a true presidential candidate for less than a week.

Trump has signaled he is likely to attack Harris as a “radical” liberal candidate who will destroy the nation if elected president, while Harris has slammed Trump as a “convicted felon” who could drag down the nation.