Minnesota campaigns, volunteers make their final play for votes as clock ticks down

Packed inside the AFL-CIO Labor Federation Building to escape the fall rain, a group of Democratic elected officials, union members and campaign volunteers didn’t let the sudden change of setting upend the reason they were all there.

It marked the kickoff to a 22-stop bus tour that was, as U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar put it, “to stand up for your freedoms.” The bus itself was idling outside.

“We have something to be really proud of going out there, out in the rain, out on those doors and that is a big purpose, a purpose that we have fulfilled time and time again in Minnesota,” Klobuchar said at the Thursday morning event, just five days before Election Day.

She was the final speaker at the rally inside the St. Paul hall where people were clad in rain jackets and ponchos made of Harris-Walz yard signs, the group rallied around Democratic Party leaders as they got ready to roll out on a statewide bus tour and knock doors.

Minnesota Republicans are taking a different tack. While Klobuchar’s opponent, Royce White, held a Capitol rally on Saturday, the party itself had no roving candidate and party leader tour at the scale of what the DFL was doing. Instead, the GOP was relying on lower-key gatherings, phone banks and door knocking brigades in key places.

“We've got so much going on that we want to focus on getting our local organizations out there contacting voters,” Republican Party Chair David Hann said on MPR’s “Politics Friday” show. “But we’ve got a lot of activity going on.”

Hann said the focus is somewhat on reaching voters who aren’t as reliable, either those who have never voted or who have fallen away from the process. Volunteers are reminding them where polling places are and what they need to do to actually cast ballots.

“Nuts and bolts blocking and tackling” is how Hann described it.

With contests for the presidency, U.S. Senate, eight congressional seats and control of the Minnesota Legislature on the ballot, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said Democrats couldn’t afford to let up with just days left.

“I am full of fight this morning as we enter these next — and last — five days that are going to determine the future for us, for our families, for our communities, for the people of Minnesota, and, frankly, for the nation,” Murphy said.

As part of their closing argument to voters, Democrats said they would stand up for democracy, reproductive rights and workers’ rights. They argued Republicans would aim to curtail them.

More than 1 million people have already voted through early absentee or mail voting, including some at in-person polling stations set up over the weekend across Minnesota. If history holds, more than 3 million ballots will be cast in the end.

All 134 seats in the Minnesota House are up, along with a single winner-takes-the majority Senate seat. Both parties are honed in on a smaller fraction of seats where they see a potential to gain ground. That’s where they’ve spent most of their money and last-minute campaign efforts.

DFLers said they’re making the case that they’ve used two years in the legislative majorities to pass their priorities like cementing the right to abortion and providing universal school meals for students no matter their family’s income level. But those could be rolled back under divided government, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said. 

“All of those things that we have been able to celebrate are worth celebrating, but now we've gotta fight to protect them and fight to keep them,” Flanagan said.

GOP candidates and organizers argue that many of the DFL policies are too extreme for Minnesotans. And they also spent the weekend urging voters to support Republicans on the ballot.

On Saturday, former Cottage Grove city council member and Washington County Commissioner Wayne Johnson knocked doors in the eastern suburb and made a case for divided government in St. Paul.

“Right now, with the trifecta, it's all about the DFL agenda, not the Republican agenda,” Johnson said. “And if we bring back balance, we split up the trifecta, we have to figure out what makes both of us happy, instead of just one side. And that's really going to be the thing.”

Johnson faces DFLer Lucia Wroblewski for an open seat that both parties are investing heavily in. As of Oct. 21, about $1.2 million had been spent there by parties and outside groups, making it among the most-expensive races in the state.

Joe Teirab, a former federal prosecutor and Republican challenging U.S. Rep. Angie Craig for Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District seat, said that voters are looking for change both in St. Paul and in Washington. The congressional contest is viewed as Minnesota’s most competitive.

“I think on the economy, on the border, on making sure we have safe streets and supporting our law enforcement, we want to change, and I am honored to represent that change,” Teirab said.

Craig’s team was also out on the doors over the weekend and planned to be working into Election Day to get voters partial to the incumbent to cast ballots.

For many Republicans, the presidential race is the big driver. On Thursday evening, Patricia Williamson handed out Halloween candy and Donald Trump campaign signs at the Carver County Republican Party’s campaign office. 

“I think we've seen our last really good weather, and I just don't want people to miss out on voting,” Williamson said. “I'd like them to understand who they should vote for and what issues touch them.”

She wore a blow-up costume that made it look like she was riding an elephant and held up a Trump sign as some cars drove by honked their horns in support. Todd Parmenter dressed in a garbage bag for the holiday, he said he was “owning it” after President Joe Biden seemingly referred to Trump’s supporters as “garbage.”

At an early voting pop up site at Fairview Park in North Minneapolis, voters meandered into the polling place to cast their ballots early. 

Northeast Minneapolis resident Greg Willson learned about the pop-up site from a flier he received. Willson, who is retired, said he voted for candidates from the Republican Party, but he said he was fed up with how divisive politics had become.

“You can’t disagree with anybody anymore. It’s either black or white and even with your neighbors, you’re sometimes talking in hushed tones about who you’re voting for,” Willson said. “I think that that’s bad for the country when we can’t even agree to disagree.”

MPR reporters Ellie Roth and Mark Zdechlik contributed to this report.

• Job Interview: For election ballot designers, there’s no room for error
• A Minnesota election for the ages? Yes, ages 4 through 10
• How has the Electoral College survived, despite being perennially unpopular?
• Thousands of Pennsylvania voters have had their mail ballot applications challenged