Areas trending REP

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Minnesota, "outer South"

I thought this ridiculous idea died around 2004.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Minnesota, "outer South"

I thought this ridiculous idea died around 2004.

It did underperform for Obama in 2008 don't you think? Do you think it was because of the convention? I'm not sure if I buy that. Or do the republicans just have a very high floor in the state?

The convention was a non-issue. McCain's spending wasn't. EMD posted the map I was about to bring up. Minnesota is the only state where McCain outspent Obama. In addition to the ND media market bit, please note the Sioux Falls, SD media market in the southwest, and the two most southeastern counties in the La Crosse, WI media market.

Also the answer to the second question is yes.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

If search was up I'd find my state legislative maps which speak for themselves. The Republicans have gained essentially nothing in Minnesota since 2002. Nothing.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The thing that may fool people about MN is that it was (relative to the national average) kind of artificially Democratic in the 80's because of (a) Walter Mondale and (b) its relative lack of urban ghetto/crime/white flight-type problems which were highly salient in that decade. So certainly in a broad sense it has trended Republican since then. But since then it's been pretty consistently around a couple of points more Democratic that the national average in all elections, give or take a point or two.

b is a good point I've actually never thought of before.