Poll: Blue Minnesota in Play for Donald Trump

Minnesota is in play for former President Donald Trump, a Tuesday KSTP/Survey USA poll revealed.

For months, Trump has previewed his intention for an aggressive expansion of the electoral map ahead of the presidential election, making a play for traditionally blue states, such as New York, New Jersey, Virginia, New Mexico, and Minnesota.

America saw that effort firsthand on Saturday, as Trump attracted a crowd of roughly 100,000 supporters for his rally in Wildwood, New Jersey.

On Friday, Trump is expected to headline the Minnesota Republican Party’s Lincoln Reagan dinner  — an event that comes as Trump appears to be drawing closer to President Joe Biden in the polls in the blue state.

The KSTP/Survey USA poll showed two percentage points separating Trump and Biden — 44 percent for Biden and 42 percent for Trump. Another nine percent remain undecided. While those figures have been the same since April, in February, Biden led Trump with a four-point advantage. Nevertheless, even Biden’s lead is within the survey’s ± 4.3 percent margin of error, making it a virtual tie.

Further, the survey shows the two are tied among independents, with 36 percent support each. It also shows Trump leading Biden in Southern Minnesota, Western Minnesota, and Northeast Minnesota. Biden holds the advantage in the Twin Cities:

The survey coincides with others showing a tight race in Minnesota. A May McLaughlin & Associates survey, for instance, showed Trump leading Biden by three points in the state, which has not gone for a Republican presidential candidate in decades. In fact, the last time the state went red was in 1972, when Republican Richard Nixon defeated Democrat George McGovern with a 520 electoral vote landslide win.

Trump came closest to flipping the state in the 2016 election, losing by 1.5 percent, or garnering 44.9 percent to Hillary Clinton’s 46.4 percent.

Trump has since made it clear that he views Minnesota as winnable, making a “heavy move” for the state this time around.

“It’s not, like, in my opinion, that blue,” Trump told KNSI Radio. “We’re going to put a heavy move into Minnesota. I promise.”

On Tuesday, Trump pollster John McLaughlin, CEO and partner of McLaughlin & Associates, told Breitbart News Daily that both Virginia and Minnesota are certainly in play.