A new poll in the historically blue state of Minnesota has President Trump and Democrat nominee Joe Biden in a dead heat in the presidential race.
MINNESOTA
Biden 47%
Trump 47%
Jorgensen 4%@trafalgar_group, LV, 8/15-18— Political Polls (@Politics_Polls) August 20, 2020
The Trafalgar Group survey was conducted August 15-18 among 1,141 likely general election voters. Specifically, President Trump garnered 46.5 percent of the vote verses Biden’s 46.9 percent. Less than two percent remain undecided, according to the poll.
The numbers show a 5 percent shift towards Trump in a month.
Since 1932, Minnesota has been a primarily Democratic state in national elections, but the North Star State has been trending purple in recent years.
President Trump flipped nineteen Minnesota counties to Republican in 2016, with approximately 75 percent of the state’s eligible voters participating in the general election.
Hillary Clinton managed to win the state by a 1.5 percent margin, or less than 45,000 votes.
The RealClearPolitics average on Thursday showed Biden up in Minnesota by only 5.3 percent.
A lot of poll watchers are crediting the recent Black Lives Matter riots in Minneapolis for the shift in the polls.
Parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul were wracked by weeks of violent riots, looting, and property destruction in response to the killing of George Floyd, a black career criminal who was killed in May during an arrest when a Minneapolis Police Department officer knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes while three other officers looked on. All of the officers involved in the arrest were later arrested.
During a campaign tour of the Midwest earlier on Monday, President Trump made a brief stop at the Minneapolis airport, where he spoke to supporters about the “left wing violence” in many U.S. cities and promised law and order.
“My heart is with also the great men and women of law enforcement, treated very poorly,” Trump said.
The president had local business owners come up and talk about the losses they suffered due to the riots, including KB Balla, owner of Scores Sports Bar, and John Wolf, owner of Chicago-Lake Liquors.
“Due to the rioting that happened in the city our bar was burned down. We’ve got to start over,” Balla, a Liberian immigrant, said.
Wolf lashed out at the city for refusing to respond to the violent mayhem.
“I called 911 over ten times without any response, all while watching looters damage by building and haul away product,” Wolf noted
Trump vowed to help out Minneapolis business owners who hope to rebuild, and chided Minnesota’s Democratic leadership for not calling the National Guard sooner to quell the violence.
The unchecked rioting left hundreds of business damaged and, in some cases, totally destroyed.
“We were calling, saying call up the National Guard, but they didn’t want to do it. It’s either pride or stupidity,” Trump said.
“I pay a lot of taxes. In return there is an understanding the city protects me. I held up to my end. The city of Minneapolis didn’t,” Wolf complained.
Trump vowed to turn Minnesota red come November.