A presidential election hits differently for different types of Minnesotans

Four co-workers strolled a walking path in Orono on Wednesday morning, enjoying the fresh air in this western suburb only hours after the presidential election had been called for President-elect Donald Trump, the latest whipsaw shift in American politics.

A Minnesota Star Tribune reporter asked if they wanted to talk about the election results; they declined. Feelings were still raw. Politics can spoil a work relationship.

A large team of reporters interviewed many dozens of Minnesotans all over the state on Tuesday and Wednesday, seeking to capture what was driving decisions in the voting booth, and then the response to Trump’s win over Vice President Kamala Harris. Many — Republicans, Democrats and independents — were generous with their time and opinions. Some didn’t want to talk about it, like the group of co-workers in Orono.

Except one of them did. Turns out, Corvin Boll had turned around to try to catch the reporter, to no avail. Hours later, Boll managed to track down his would-be interviewer with an e-mail, which led to a phone call.

“For me, my reaction to the news was less about necessarily my thoughts on what’s going to happen politically because I’m kind of, at this point, used to being afraid,” said Boll, who is a trans man and lives in Minneapolis but works in Orono. “But what I wasn’t so prepared for was my own emotional reaction … to the hurt of living in a community that was so proud to have won this victory for someone like [Trump] who so clearly doesn’t have my demographic’s interest at heart.”

Trump’s gains with voters extended into some unexpected demographics, notably Latinos. On Tuesday night, just before the polls closed at Bloomington City Hall, a Davanni’s pizza man arrived to deliver food to the poll judges. Voters went for Harris by over 40 points in populous, blue-leaning Hennepin County, helping the Democrat carry Minnesota by a margin of more than 138,000 votes over Trump. But the young man, working late into the night, had an outlier take.

“Trump,” replied the delivery driver, Alejandro Guerrero, when asked how he voted. He said he’s been delivering pizzas since April and seen up close the higher cost of staple food items that families are paying.

Guerrero said he had watched a lot of Harris’ speeches. They didn’t hit home, he said.

Trump has floated raising tariffs on imported goods. HIs message of economic populism appears to have caught on with many working-class Americans.

“I like the idea of tariffs and less taxes,” said Nicholas Pytleski, as he walked near the Crow River in downtown Delano Wednesday afternoon. He works in manufacturing.

An electorate’s whims often seem cruel to one person but economically reasonable to another. Politics, according to etiquette rules, shouldn’t be brought up at the dinner table. But this week, as Minnesota and the nation caught its breath, there was a need among some to vent and be heard.

Like Corvin Boll. Boll, 33, recounted coming out as trans to his grandfather, who was initially confused. Then, the older man asked for a piece of paper with Boll’s new name that he could tape to his armchair. It was a sweet gesture, Boll said.

More recently, Boll was sitting with his grandfather when a Trump commercial came on TV. Images of drag queens were followed by a tagline: “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”

Boll said he left the room momentarily, tears in his eyes.

Boll also works all day with people he knows voted for Trump.

“Compartmentalization is necessary,” he said. “It’s tough because listening, they put on a front of acceptance. They’re not going to be outwardly rude to me about being trans.”

Boll is thinking now about history, the way minorities have so often been scapegoated for political advantage. But he also needs to get through a workday. “This is the side of being seen from my position that I wish that my co-workers would hear,” he said.

Many Americans spent the second half of this week getting their bearings. Many celebrated. Some tuned out the news entirely.

On his Wednesday morning commute, Boll said, he listened to Mozart’s “Requiem.”