Many analysts now speculate that the presidential candidate who wins the battleground states will win the 2020 White House race — which has evolved into …
Many analysts now speculate that the presidential candidate who wins the battleground states will win the 2020 White House race — which has evolved into a complicated bout indeed. Minnesota is one of those battleground states — in flux, it appears, despite the state’s political history, Minnesotans have voted for Democratic presidential candidates all the way back to 1976. But things change. A half dozen Democratic mayors in Minnesota recently declared their allegiance to President Trump — a revelation that made national headlines. Now comes a new poll of local voters that suggests the North Star State is not committed to Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden. He is, in fact, now tied with Mr. Trump. Let’s go down to excruciating incremental terms: The poll found that 46.9% of the respondents favor Mr. Biden while 46.5% side with Mr. Trump. Another 3.7% favor Libertarian Party hopeful Jo Jorgensen,1.2% favor another candidate and another 1.7 % are undecided. One of the most striking findings was that 53% of the much coveted independent vote in Minnesota goes to Mr. Trump while 42% are with Mr. Biden. In addition, a full quarter of the Democratic respondents favor Mr. Trump while 67% are in Mr. Biden’s corner. Black voters are not entirely behind Mr. Biden. The Democrat is polling at 71% among Black voters, but Mr. Trump has also found favor with 18%. In terms of congressional districts in Minnesota, the poll found Mr. Trump ahead in districts 1,2,7 and 8. The president also came within 3 percentage points of Mr. Biden in districts 3 and 5. Voter emotion also played a role. The poll found that equal numbers of Biden and Trump voters — 49% — agree they are enthusiastic about their candidate. Mr. Trump, however, generates more excitement (59% to 38%) while Mr. Biden produces a greater sense of reluctance among his voters (60% to 26%). “The poll shows a dead heat between President Trump and Joe Biden in Minnesota of all places.
