Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) on Sunday suggested the race between President Biden and former President Trump will “be close” while expressing optimism about a Democratic win.
When asked on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” if Minnesota is now considered a battleground state, Walz said, “Look, we know that this is always going to be a hard race.”
“Minnesota is, as you know, we’re a Great Plains state out here. We’re an agricultural state, we’ve got a mix of urban and rural, I think we’re a microcosm of America, and I think, as you know, your viewers know, that it’s going to be close,” Walz continued. “The good news is that we know how to win races out there. We’ve been winning presidential races since 1972, longer than any other state.”
Walz’s remarks came shortly after reports circulated the Trump campaign is seeking to secure leases for eight “Trump Force 47” offices in Minnesota, a traditionally blue state. Trump has repeatedly argued he can win the state and last month made a campaign stop to the North Star State to speak at a fundraising dinner.
Minnesota has the longest active stream of voting for Democratic presidential nominees of any U.S. state, last voting for a Republican candidate, former President Nixon, in 1972.
Decision Desk HQ currently forecasts Biden has a 66 percent chance of winning Minnesota this November. He won the state in 2020 by a 7 percent margin, a jump from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s narrow 1.5 percentage point margin over Trump in 2016.
“We’re on the ground. I think Joe Biden has been delivering out here,” Walz said. “When Joe comes out here, he delivers jobs and infrastructure projects, and the former president comes out and delivers grievance.”
“If you want to be a swing state, you got to be offering something to voters, and I don’t think [Trump’s] doing that by just saying he’s going to win, so it’ll be close. We’ll get her done, though, for the president,” Walz said.
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