Former President Donald Trump rallied in Minnesota three times in the three months leading up to the 2020 election. He’s been less present in the North Star state this year, with his latest visit in July.
Trump was here in May to headline the state Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner. And he visited again in late July for a rally in St. Cloud with his newly announced running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance.
Vance is scheduled to attend a private, high-dollar fundraiser in Minneapolis on Monday. But it’s unclear whether the former president who once vowed to win Minnesota will come back here before Election Day, Nov. 5.
“As of right now, I really haven’t heard anything,” Minnesota GOP deputy chairwoman Donna Bergstrom said. “[Trump’s] got a busy schedule. I know he’s been in Michigan quite a bit, he’s been over in Wisconsin quite a bit.”
It’s a stark departure from four years ago, when Trump held rallies in Minnesota in August, September and October. Trump pledged to win Minnesota that year after he lost the state by about 1.5 percentage points to Hillary Clinton in 2016. But he ended up losing to President Joe Biden by an even larger margin, about 7 percentage points.
Trump again signaled interest in Minnesota earlier this year. His campaign announced it would open eight field offices in the state, and some of his closest allies expressed confidence in winning Minnesota while at the Republican National Convention in July.
Then Biden dropped out of the race. Vice President Kamala Harris stepped in and named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz her running mate.
A Star Tribune/MPR News/KARE 11 poll conducted last month found that Harris and Walz held a 48%-43% lead over Trump and Vance in Minnesota. Harris hasn’t been to the state since she became the nominee.