‘Fight!’: Minnesota Republicans show solidarity with Trump at RNC, vow to turn state red

MILWAUKEE — Minnesota’s delegation to the Republican National Convention pumped their fists into the air and chanted “Fight!” alongside thousands of other conservatives at the party’s national convention here on Monday, echoing how former President Donald Trump responded to being shot two days earlier.

State GOP chairman David Hann announced all of Minnesota’s delegates for Trump as the former president was formally nominated, vowing before an energetic crowd that the North Star state would elect a Republican president for the first time since 1972.

“To preserve our nation ... we Minnesotans proudly pledge all 39 of our delegate votes for our next president, Donald J. Trump,” Hann said from the floor of the convention at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum arena.

The Republican National Convention got off to an energetic and emotional start as many were still reeling from the assassination attempt on Trump. But convention-goers quickly got to work, approving a new party platform that includes a more relaxed position on abortion and celebrating the news of Trump’s selection of 39-year-old Republican U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate.

“As a young person voting myself, it’s nice to see another young Republican coming up through the ranks,” said Svetlana Jones, an 18-year-old RNC delegate from Eden Prairie.

Jones beamed as she described the “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity of being a national delegate during a pivotal election year: “To support Donald Trump as my first vote, that’s pretty awesome.”

David FitzSimmons, another Minnesota RNC delegate, said the importance of the four-day national convention became even clearer after the attempt on Trump’s life.

“I think everybody is more committed than ever to show their resilience and show that we’re not going to back down to political violence and intimidation,” said FitzSimmons, who also serves as chief of staff for GOP U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad.

Delegates erupted in applause and chants of “U.S.A.!” as Vance entered the building Monday afternoon and shook hands with convention goers. Vance is a first-term senator from a state that was long a battleground but has in recent years turned more reliably conservative. He also wrote the bestselling book “Hillbilly Elegy.” Once an outspoken Trump critic, Vance warmed to the former president during his 2022 Senate run.

The Minnesota DFL quickly blasted the newly announced Trump-Vance ticket.

“J.D. Vance is a 2020 election denier who opposes abortion even for survivors of rape and incest, which makes him a great fit for the Minnesota Republican Party,” Martin said in a statement. “Just as Donald Trump has doubled down on far-right extremism by picking J.D. Vance, the Minnesota GOP has repeatedly doubled down on extreme candidates and ideologies that are out of touch with Minnesotans.”

The new Republican platform that delegates approved Monday includes an abortion stance endorsed by Trump but criticized by some delegates who wanted the party to take a stricter position. Republicans said in their platform they oppose late-term abortions and support in vitro fertilization (IVF) and birth control.

The platform calls for tax cuts, to “end inflation” and to “end the weaponization of government against the American people.” It also includes controversial immigration priorities: “Carry out the largest deportation operation in American history,” and “Deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again.”

Kip Christianson, one of Minnesota’s RNC delegates who serves on the platform committee, said the new platform is concise and forward-looking. He noted that Trump “had a deep hand in rewriting this platform and tearing 50 pages of bloat out of it.”

And while some delegates had said they wished the platform included stronger language opposing abortion, Christianson said he didn’t think it was necessary.

“Republicans do not need a platform to tell them that they are pro-life,” he said.