President Donald Trump quadrupled his support among Minnesota Republicans between 2016 and 2020, according to the results of Tuesday night’s Republican primary.
The state transitioned from a caucus to a primary system after the last election, but there were more votes cast for the incumbent president Tuesday night than there were Republican caucus goers in 2016.
The 2016 Minnesota Republican caucus saw 114,245 participants, compared to 137,235 Republican voters in 2020 who backed President Trump. Additionally, President Trump lost the 2016 state Republican primary to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and received just 24,473 votes.
“The proof is in the pudding. Minnesotans have thrived under President Trump’s administration and the thought of the socialist Democrats’ regressive policies had them running to the polls. President Trump’s growing support is just another sign that Minnesotans will gladly flip their state in November,” said Preya Samsundar, a Republican National Committee spokesperson.
Jennifer Carnahan, chairwoman of the Minnesota GOP, said that while the “Democrats grapple with the division in their own party, Minnesotans are eager and excited to join together and work towards four more years of a Trump presidency.”
“While President Trump has lifted our nation to new heights with a record-breaking economy, historically low unemployment, and an agenda that benefits all Americans, the radical 2020 Democrats have offered nothing more than chaos and disastrous socialism,” she said in a statement. “President Trump came within two points of victory in 2016 and we are looking forward to delivering Minnesota’s 10 electoral votes to President Donald Trump on November 3.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden won Minnesota’s Democratic primary in a surprising upset over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Sanders won Minnesota in 2016 over Hillary Clinton but failed to clinch a repeat Tuesday night despite the endorsements of Attorney General Keith Ellison and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05).
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Trump Supporters” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
