ELECTORAL VOTES 10

2008 ELECTION Swing State

ABOUT
MINNESOTA

Minnesota, cobbled together from land that was part of the original United States, land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase and land acquired from Great Britain in 1818, joined the Union in May 1858. Minnesota voted exclusively Republican from 1860 through the onset of the Great Depression, except for 1912 when it sided with Progressive candidate (and former Republican) Theodore Roosevelt. From 1932 onward, the state has primarily voted Democratic, last voting Republican during Nixon’s landslide victory in 1972. In 1984, Minnesotans gave homegrown Senator Mondale his only state in the lopsided loss to Ronald Reagan. Despite this history of being “blue”, the 2000 election turned out quite close, with Al Gore defeating bush by only 2.5%. In 2004, the results in Minnesota were again close, with John Kerry defeating George Bush by 3.5%. While not currently considered a swing state for 2008, recent history suggests it could be a close count, depending on the nominees.