Title: The coming Republican state of Minnesota? | MinnPost
Headings: The coming Republican state of Minnesota?
The coming Republican state of Minnesota?
Signs of a shift
DFL base seems to be eroding
Center of the national action
WANT TO ADD YOUR VOICE?

Content: REUTERS/Baz Ratner
Feb. 14, 2018
Minnesota Rep. Rick Nolan’s surprise decision not to seek re-election underscores how this state is at a political tipping point. This most Democratic of states in 2018 could finally turn Republican, following the path of Wisconsin and other Midwestern states. What happens in Minnesota this year could also decide which party controls the U.S. House and Senate. David Schultz
Minnesota is thought of as the liberal state of Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, Walter Mondale, Paul Wellstone, and Al Franken. It is the most reliable Democrat state when it comes to the presidency; the last time it voted Republican was for Nixon in 1972. Tim Pawlenty in 2006 was the last Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota. Signs of a shift
Yet there are many signs that the state is turning Republican. Since 1999, the Minnesota House of Representatives has been controlled by Republicans 14 out of 20 years. Since 2010 party control of the Minnesota Senate has flipped three times.