Minnesota Gubernatorial thread

[Landslide Lyndon]

Emmer concedes

Isn't it ironic than in one of their worst years in a century Democrats managed to win two of their most long sought after governorships? (Minnesota and Connecticut)

[Franzl]

Emmer concedes

Isn't it ironic than in one of their worst years in a century Democrats managed to win two of their most long sought after governorships? (Minnesota and Connecticut)

Especiall ironic in Minnesota considering the truly MASSIVE....hell, beyond massive....gains in the Minnesota State Legislature for Republicans.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Minnesota is weird, that's all. In a nice way.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Emmer concedes

Isn't it ironic than in one of their worst years in a century Democrats managed to win two of their most long sought after governorships? (Minnesota and Connecticut)

Especiall ironic in Minnesota considering the truly MASSIVE....hell, beyond massive....gains in the Minnesota State Legislature for Republicans.

I wouldn't say they were that big, the GOP still has less seats in the House then they did after the 2002 election.

I think the GOP overplayed their hand. They figured holding the governorship for so long and a GOP year would mean they could elect anyone to it. So they nominated someone as awful as Emmer.

[tmthforu94]

Emmer concedes

Isn't it ironic than in one of their worst years in a century Democrats managed to win two of their most long sought after governorships? (Minnesota and Connecticut)

Especiall ironic in Minnesota considering the truly MASSIVE....hell, beyond massive....gains in the Minnesota State Legislature for Republicans.

I wouldn't say they were that big, the GOP still has less seats in the House then they did after the 2002 election.

I think the GOP overplayed their hand. They figured holding the governorship for so long and a GOP year would mean they could elect anyone to it. So they nominated someone as awful as Emmer.

I didn't even have Minnesota on the radar until, well, election night. I figured Emmer would come within 5 points, but I never would have guessed he finish this close. Dayton led by as many as 16 in the final days.

It says a lot, actually, for Republicans that they nominate someone this bad and still almost win in a state many consider to be pretty Democratic. And with Obama only leading Romney by 5 currently, this state could be starting a trend back towards Republicans.

[tpfkaw]

Uhhh . . . MN has been trending Republican for AT LEAST a decade.

[tmthforu94]

Uhhh . . . MN has been trending Republican for AT LEAST a decade.

I was referring to the Presidential level, which was more Democratic in 2004 than 2000 and more in 2008 than 2004. I think it will return to at least 2004 levels, possibly even close to 2000 level's, in 2012.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Uhhh . . . MN has been trending Republican for AT LEAST a decade.

Uh, this is the first time the GOP has made ANY gains since 2002.

Emmer got 43.21%, so don't look at the closeness as an indicator of anything really. (Besides perhaps that someone like Palin might get around that, but Obama can obviously get better than 44%.)

[tpfkaw]

Trending, not swinging.

[ilikeverin]

Emmer concedes

Isn't it ironic than in one of their worst years in a century Democrats managed to win two of their most long sought after governorships? (Minnesota and Connecticut)

Especiall ironic in Minnesota considering the truly MASSIVE....hell, beyond massive....gains in the Minnesota State Legislature for Republicans.

I wouldn't say they were that big, the GOP still has less seats in the House then they did after the 2002 election.

I think the GOP overplayed their hand. They figured holding the governorship for so long and a GOP year would mean they could elect anyone to it. So they nominated someone as awful as Emmer.

I didn't even have Minnesota on the radar until, well, election night. I figured Emmer would come within 5 points, but I never would have guessed he finish this close. Dayton led by as many as 16 in the final days.

You must've been looking at Humphrey Institute or StarTrib polls... with the exception of Klobuchar, where they nailed it, even BRTD would admit that they have a big DFL lean.

[Verily]

Trending, not swinging.

Seems to me that this isn't an argument you would want to make about a state in which the Republicans failed to win in the best year for them in at least a decade and a half after having won other elections by wider margins in the relatively recent past.

Minnesota has shown some odd fits and starts in the past decade, but none of them seem to indicate trends one way or another.

[tpfkaw]

Well, Pawlenty was not a popular governor, and Emmer was a weak candidate.

Considering that MN was the location of the highest D PVI GOP pickup (Chip Cravaack, who defeated 36-year Democratic incumbent Jim Oberstar in a D+3 district), I'd say you may want to look for the real story elsewhere.

[they don't love you like i love you]

House races are not statewide (note that Walz survived) and if you look at the results in that seat you'll still see no real trend, every other DFL candidate ran far ahead of Oberstar.

The Republicans won't hold a single statewide elected office in Minnesota once Dayton is sworn in and no Republican has broken 50% in a statewide office since 1994. But hey this is a guy who believes Michele Bachmann can be elected to Senate in 2012.

From 2002 to 2004 the Republicans had four statewide offices, an identical House seat breakdown, more seats in the State House and not that many less seats in the State Senate. To go from that to now is not exactly "trending" Republican.

[ilikeverin]

I think we can say with utter certainty that Minnesota can't at all decide which way it's trending.

Incidentally, does anyone know the last time Minnesota didn't have a divided government?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Well, Massachusetts had a Republican Governors from 1991 to 2007, and Connecticut had Republican Governors from 1995 to now (with the last Democratic Governor leaving office in 1991 as well, even if Weicker does not count as a Republican here). So, anyone is going to claim MA or CT are trending GOP?

[they don't love you like i love you]

Incidentally, does anyone know the last time Minnesota didn't have a divided government?

In 1990, before Rudy Perpich lost.