Trump to headline Minnesota GOP dinner amid talk of targeting state

Former President Trump will make his first visit of the 2024 campaign to Minnesota later this month to speak at a major dinner hosted by the state GOP as his campaign weighs trying to flip the state red in November.

The Minnesota GOP announced Monday that Trump will address the party’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner. KNSI radio in Minnesota reported that the event will take place on May 17.

“We are thrilled to welcome President Trump back to Minnesota to headline our Lincoln Reagan dinner, an annual tradition that reminds us of the roots of our Party and the leaders who have been most impactful in promoting our American values. I can think of no one more fitting to join us this year than President Trump,” said Minnesota GOP chairman David Hahn.

The fundraiser falls on the same day as Barron Trump’s high school graduation. The former president had previously complained that he would be forced to miss his son’s graduation to attend his hush money trial in New York City, but the judge ultimately ruled Trump would be allowed to attend the event in Florida.

The Minnesota fundraiser is scheduled for the evening of May 17, while Barron Trump’s graduation will be that morning, so the former president should be able to attend both events.

Top Trump campaign officials during a weekend donor retreat reportedly made the case that Minnesota and Virginia could be targets to expand the electoral map in November.

Battleground state polling has shown Trump leading in places like Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, though President Biden has narrowly pulled ahead in a Decision Desk HQ average of national polls.

Trump himself has suggested in interviews that he will try to compete in traditional Democratic strongholds like New York, New Jersey and Minnesota.

A Republican presidential candidate has not won Minnesota since 1972. Trump lost the state in 2020 to President Biden by 7 percentage points.

In Virginia, Democrats have carried the state in every presidential election since 2008. Biden beat Trump there in 2020 by 10 percentage points.

Updated on May 7 at 11:10 a.m. EDT