So it looks like Minnesota will be the state closest to the national pop. vote

[Figueira]

I'm thinking Hillary was just a bad fit with white Midwestern voters and a different candidate will return it to its norm as a solid blue state.

If they start nominating candidates who are a better fit.

In retrospect, it's crazy that Hillary won the Iowa caucus.

She was up against a 74-year old socialist. The fact that Bernie did as well as he did is only a testament to Hillary's weaknesses.

One thing I'm wondering though is why northeastern Minnesota still voted for Clinton. I get Duluth, but what about, say, Cook County? Is it a Midwestern version of Vermont or something?

That's the "Iron Range" part of the state. There are tons of iron deposits in this area, so the main industry is mining, which results in it being heavily unionized. That iron is shipped out of a port in Duluth at the western tip of Lake Superior in Saint Louis County. But Trump made a massive improvement over Mitt Romney here - Obama crushed Romney here while Trump was competitive.

Cook County, MN, barely swung towards Trump. The results there were almost the same as 2012.

Cook county is very nearly empty... and the few people who do live there tend to be baby boomer granola grazers.

There's not much there... except woods... and the lake.  It's absolutely gorgeous in the fall.



As for the state going GOP:  If economic populist/socially ambiguous is the new norm for the GOP, then maybe it will.  But if the "gut it, cut it, drown it in a tub" wing continues, as it will, then it probably won't.

Ah, so it is a Midwestern version of Vermont, then.

[hopper]

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan have all been moving to center for years. There never was a blue firewall and it was a misconception that even the F'ing campaign seemed to buy into. When it became clear that Iowa wasn't competitive, I struggled to buy into the notion that MN and WI were truly impenetrable. I kept hoping I was being a bedwetter. Sadly, I wasn't. My instinct was correct that somehow this was a disconnect.

Minnesota has been competitive for awhile, folks.

Well yeah true part of "The Dem Wall" was shattered when Trump won Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin which was the first time a Republican Presidential Candidate won those states since the days of Reagan/Bush H.W.

On the flip side most of "The Dem Wall" is still intact since every Dem Presidential Nominee has won the following states since 1992: California, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine. Every Dem Presidential Nominee has also carried Oregon, and Washington State since 1984 while a Dem Presidential hasn't lost Minnesota since 1972(McGovern.)

[MT Treasurer]

It's probably still going to be Minnesota, but Maine (which was my pick before the election) is also going to be very close to the final PV margin. Oh, and Nevada of course.

[Young Conservative]

How did Tom Emmer's district vote?

It has a lot of Rural areas. It still voted red, but Paulsen's district voted for Clinton- although I think It also voted for Obama.

[jaichind]

It seems that in this election NH MI MN PA and WI all flipped to lean GOP while NV and ME stay lean Dem as VA continue to drift Dem after it flipped to lean Dem in 2012.