Two Republican candidates in Minnesota for the state office had mild reactions to former President Donald Trump’s endorsements late-in-the campaign.
Kim Crockett, Secretary of State nominee, released a statement expressing her surprise at the endorsement. “I appreciate this unexpected confidence vote.” However, she quickly stated that she would protect the vote for all voters “no mater one’s party affiliation span>
Scott Jensen, the GOP nominee for governor, tried to divert attention from Trump by calling it one among many endorsements he had received this month.
Jensen stated in an early morning statement that while they have not sought endorsement from political leaders, she was grateful for the recognition of her ability to lead and heal Minnesota.
Why is there so little enthusiasm? A presidential endorsement might have been beneficial when the two were trying to get the endorsement of a group that is still dominated by Trump supporters. In a general election Trump’s support could be just as harmful to independent voters as it can be to the GOP base.
The MinnPost/Embold Research statewide survey was conducted earlier in the month. Trump’s favorability rating is among the lowest of all the politicians. Only 57% of those polled felt unfavorable to Trump, while 35% said they felt favorable. Since August, the unfavorable total has increased from 53% to 57%.
Only 20% of independent voters said they felt very or somewhat favorably toward the former president, while 64% reported feeling very or somewhat negative toward him.
Trump’s endorsement of the race for secretary of state and the message he sent his followers via Truth Social reiterated a false claim that Trump made that Crockett tried to downplay: That the 2020 election had been stolen.
Crockett, who has stated in the past that the election had been rigged, continues to raise questions about the conduct of the elections in Minnesota and across the country. She has stated that the 2020 election is not an issue, and that it is possible to count on her to supervise elections in a nonpartisan manner. Steve Simon, her DFL opponent, has repeatedly said that her sowing doubts in the count is disqualifying.
Crockett might prefer not to go there but Trump did.
Trump called Crockett “a strong, wonderful woman” and said that fraud is “rampant” in Minnesota. Trump said that the state is “where nothing can be done about it” and, more importantly, it is not FIX IT. Kim will investigate the matter and do so many other things.
Joe Biden won Minnesota with 233,012 votes. This is more than 7 percentage points ahead of Donald Trump. There were no legal challenges to the Minnesota vote.
Trump’s endorsement for Jensen stated that he would bring the State “back from the brink,” citing the positions of Jensen on crime and education.
Style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”… There won’t be anymore fiery takeovers by police precincts. Trump said that Minnesota would be “great again” before he offered his “complete endorsement span>
Jensen did not cite Trump’s endorsement, but instead grouped it with other publications, including Forum Communications newspapers and police officers.
Jensen trails Gov. Tim Walz has been leading Gov. in media polls but this gap has narrowed since the summer. According to the MinnPost/Embold Research poll, Walz held a lead of five points. In the same poll, Simon outpaced Crockett by seven points.
Jensen has been able to work with many national organizations because of the close race for the governor’s seat. The Republican Governor’s Association announced a large advertising purchase on his behalf this week. According to a poll conducted by GOP pollster Trafalgar Group, Jensen led by 0.5 percentage points. However, the poll’s margin for error is +/– 2.9 percentage.
span style=”font weight: 400 ;”>” As this campaign leads in the polls,” Jensen stated.
However, state DFLers quickly attempted to profit from the endorsement of an unpopular former president, who spent almost two years claiming his defeat was fraudulent. This was despite his claims being rejected by the Justice Department and no court victories in his numerous challenges. Jan. 6th, a special investigation by the U.S. House found evidence that he was responsible for the violent takeover at the Capitol. This prevented, but didn’t stop, the certification, of Biden’s victory in the Electoral College.
“It’s more important than ever to not allow Donald Trump’s aides in office to continue attacking our elections and spreading conspiracy theories which incite violence,” stated Ken Martin, state DFL Chair.
Simon sent out a fundraising appeal to the campaign based on Trump’s endorsement within hours.
Martin replied to Jensen’s endorsement on Wednesday: span style=”font weight: 400 ;”>”Scott Jensen believes the Big Lie and even calls for the deportation of our Secretary-of-State. Donald Trump has now endorsed him.
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