Donald Trump’s blitz across the U.S. electoral map in Tuesday’s presidential election pressed Hillary Clinton in a state long seen as a lock for her, with the race not called for Clinton until Wednesday morning.
Clinton, the Democratic standard bearer, recorded 1.4 million votes, or 46.8 percent, in the state to 1.3 million (45.4 percent) for Trump, the Republican candidate.
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson took 112,769 (3.9 percent) with other candidates garnering 113,752 votes (3.9 percent).
Clinton ran well behind Barack Obama’s 2012 numbers in many areas. And her under-performance was catching, with Democrats struggling to hang on to congressional seats they hadn’t been expected to sweat. Further down the ballot, Democrats missed an opening to take back the state House majority and feared that a fragile Senate majority had slipped away, too.
“This is a huge wave election for Donald Trump and the Republicans,” said a deflated Ken Martin, chair of the state’s Democratic party. “This is a new day for American politics.”
A look at the races:
Congress
Democratic Rep. Tim Walz, a popular figure in his southern Minnesota district, wasn’t on anyone’s danger list before Tuesday. But he found himself nip-and-tuck with GOP challenger Jim Hagedorn before finally hanging on to win.
Betty McCollum (D), representing congressional District 4 that includes St. Thomas, captured 58 percent of the votes in her race and easily defeated Greg Ryan (R) and Susan Pendergast Sindt, running for the Legalize Marijuana Now party.
In District 5 that includes the St. Thomas campus in Minneapolis, Keith Ellison won 69 percent of the vote to rout Frank Drake (R) and Dennis Schuller (LMN).
Far to the north and west, conservative Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson eked out an uncomfortably narrow victory over a little-known Republican challenger.
Democrat Angie Craig had been favored over Republican former talk show host Jason Lewis for the Twin Cities-area seat that had been held by the retiring Rep. John Kline. But Lewis whipped Craig to vaporize what Democrats had been counting on as a pickup.
A Democratic challenger’s effort to tie Erik Paulsen to Trump’s unpopularity in the suburbs didn’t pay off. Paulsen easily beat state Sen. Terri Bonoff in the 3rd Congressional District.
In northeastern Minnesota’s 8th District, Republicans hoped to capitalize on the appeal of Trump’s economic platform in mining towns wracked by a global steel industry downturn. But Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan beat GOP challenger Stewart Mills in a rematch of their 2014 race.
Legislative majorities
Democrats conceded any hope of taking control of the House in the wee hours Wednesday morning, after their candidates lost in several critical suburban and rural seats. They also appeared on the verge of losing their Senate majority after losing several incumbents, though two close races and a pair of recounts still had to be resolved.
Long home to the nation’s largest Somali population, Minnesota elected the first Somali-American lawmaker. Democrat Ilhan Omar won a state House seat to represent a Minneapolis neighborhood often called “Little Mogadishu.”
Ballot initiative passes
Minnesota voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to hand power for setting the pay of state legislators to an independent body, which could give lawmakers their first raise since 1999. Voters returned Associate Justice Natalie Hudson to the Minnesota Supreme Court after being appointed to the bench last year.