It’s fairly irresistible: Minnesota State Fair is a political proving ground
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On Sept. 2, 1901, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt stepped onto a stage at the Minnesota State Fair to pitch his foreign policy to a crowd of thousands.
Roosevelt said the United States should, “speak softly and carry a big stick,” a phrase that would define not just his presidency, but the country’s approach to international diplomacy.
Since then, local, state and national candidates have flocked to the fair to meet with constituents, campaign and attract media attention. Political appearances have resulted in campaign-making and campaign-breaking moments.
Endless opportunities to connect
Before the State Fair in 1998, Jesse Ventura was seen as a longshot for the governor’s seat. Ventura was polling at 7 percent support before the fair as a Reform Party candidate. But at the Great Minnesota Get-Together, he campaigned tirelessly.
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Ventura put in 10-hour days and attracted crowds wherever he went. It paid off — support for Ventura tripled in the weeks following the fair. That November he secured an upset victory over two veteran politicians.
Whether trying the newest food on a stick or showing off a unique talent on one of the stages, the fair is a chance for politicians to humanize themselves. In the ’80s and ‘90s, Republican U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz could be found at his flavored milk booth talking to voters while dishing out banana or root beer-flavored milk.
“Just to give them a chance to get at me, so that people can ask whatever they want to ask, and they can do so in a little bit more relaxed format than normal," Boschwitz told MPR News at the 1996 State Fair. “If I’m here for six or seven hours, I would say I talked to a couple thousand and then very many more will see me. That’s important too — at least they have a sense that if they want to talk to me, they can.”
University of Minnesota-Morris political science professor Tim Lindberg said many voters feel it’s important to see the people behind the politics.
“It is one of those few sort of venues left in our state society that brings together people from everywhere,” said Lindberg, who studies the divide between rural and urban politics. “You can’t necessarily control what people are going to say to you or how people are going to ask you questions … people still want that type of environment and they appreciate it.”
During a debate at the State Fair in 2006, then-U.S. Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar took aim at her opponent, Republican Rep. Mark Kennedy, over economic policies.
“Your proposal, Congressman Kennedy, reminds me of when I was at the beer garden and I was hearing some kids talk: ‘The guy got too much foam in my beer,’” Klobuchar conveyed about what she overheard from that college student. “Your proposal is all foam and no beer.”
“You need to put forth proposals to analyze what we’re going to do to move forward, not just complaints and criticisms,” Kennedy rebutted.
Klobuchar would later repurpose the comment in her short-lived bid for president. In a crowded first Democratic presidential debate in 2019, Klobuchar fought to break from the pack and took aim at President Donald Trump’s failed promise to bring down drug costs.
“For the rest of America, that’s what we call all foam and no beer,” she said. “We got nothing out of it.”
Over the decades, dozens of presidents, vice presidents and candidates for the coveted office, have stopped by the fair. This year, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is on the ticket as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.
Walz has been a fixture at the fair since becoming governor, except for this year as he campaigns for vice president. The campaign hasn’t ruled out a drop-in visit, but his busy schedule has him far from Minnesota for much of the fair’s remaining days.
Because of Walz, the State Fair had some national attention this year. As Harris decided who would make the best running mate, a video of Walz and his daughter Hope riding the slingshot in 2023 resurfaced and went viral. The video was viewed by millions, many of whom used it to make a case for the governor who was not seen as a front-runner in the veepstakes until the very end.
“I think in a lot of other places, particularly bigger states, people aren’t used to their politicians being regular people,” Lindberg said about the video’s appeal to non-Midwesterners. “They’re not used to being able to meet or see their politicians doing regular things.”
Retail Politics
The style of campaigning employed by Walz and other politicians at the fair, called retail politics, was also used by the late Vice President Hubert Humphrey. He was regarded as a master of retail politics, and one of his favorite places to exemplify his talent was the Minnesota State Fair.
“You could send other politicians to the State Fair and they’re not going to be as successful as Hubert Humphrey was,” said historian and journalist Samuel Freedman, author of “Into The Bright Sunshine – Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights.”
“Instead of being worn out by shaking hands or schmoozing all day, it seemed to make him more energetic,” Freedman said.
As a U.S. senator, Humphrey wouldn’t let any blue ribbon or prize go unacknowledged, according to remarks made by Norman Sherman, his longtime spokesperson, to the Minnesota Star Tribune in 2010. Every winner would receive a personal letter of congratulations signed by Humphrey. Freedman said that was just Humphrey’s approach.
“Not everybody loves retail politics, not everybody is good at it,” Freedman said. “You can win in other ways, but when people just have the love of being out there and feel energized by their contact with voters, you can’t fake that.”
Voters also have their say
The State Fair isn’t just a place for candidates to campaign, it’s also a place for voters to express their views. In 2021, Action 4 Liberty, a conservative group in the state, hosted a “Never Again” booth at the fair to protest Walz’s COVID-19 response.
The booth made a comeback this year as a “Never Walz” themed display. Fairgoers can spin a giant wheel with Walz’s face on it for a chance to win a prize. Volunteers hand out fans to passersby decorated with the “Never Walz” slogan.
Fairgoer Jesse Cole from Champlin stopped by the Minnesota Republican booth wearing a t-shirt printed with a photo of former President Donald Trump waving his fist while blood gushes from his ear just minutes after the assassination attempt in Butler, Penn. Cole said it was a gift from his mom for his birthday. He was one of many fairgoers wearing political shirts or buttons.
“I have values and things that I believe in, that I stand by, and they align with Trump,” Cole said.
“I’m glad to be in America where you can have your opinion and wear a shirt like this and hopefully not be threatened or mocked. I think there’s a lot of people that are showing support for their party and they’re not afraid to speak up about it.”
MPR News senior politics reporter Dana Ferguson contributed to this article.
The MPR Archive team contributed to this story.