You’ve probably seen the maps during election night. Huge swaths of red covering the vast majority of the Midwest, with a tiny, stubborn dot of bright blue sitting right over the Twin Cities. It's a visual that sparks the same question every four years: Is Minneapolis a red or blue state?
Well, first thing's first. Minneapolis isn't a state—it’s a city. But the confusion is totally understandable because Minneapolis basically is the reason Minnesota stays blue. If you took Minneapolis and the surrounding metro out of the equation, the North Star State would look a lot more like its neighbors, North and South Dakota.
Minnesota actually holds the longest streak of voting for Democratic presidential candidates in the entire country. We’re talking thirteen consecutive elections. The last time a Republican won the state was Richard Nixon back in 1972. Even when Ronald Reagan swept 49 states in 1984, Minnesota was the lone holdout for home-grown candidate Walter Mondale.
Why the "Blue Wall" Starts in Minneapolis
The heart of this streak is Hennepin County. In the 2024 election, Kamala Harris took the state by about 4.2 points. That might sound close, but in Minneapolis proper, the margins are staggering. It’s common to see Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) candidates winning 80% or even 90% of the vote in certain city wards.
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When people ask if the region is blue, they’re usually looking at that massive concentration of DFL voters. The DFL is Minnesota's unique version of the Democratic party—a merger from the 1940s between the Democrats and the Farmer-Labor Party. It created a powerful coalition of urban liberals and working-class rural folks.
But things are shifting.
The Rural-Urban Tussle
Honestly, the "blue" label is a bit of an oversimplification once you leave the city limits. While Minneapolis is deep blue, "Greater Minnesota"—the area outside the Twin Cities metro—has turned increasingly red.
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- 2016 Shocker: Donald Trump came within 1.5 percentage points of flipping the state. He did this by winning rural counties that had voted for Obama just four years earlier.
- The 2024 Shift: Even though Harris won, the state actually shifted about 3% to the right compared to 2020.
- County Flips: Trump flipped four counties red in the most recent cycle: Winona, Nicollet, Blue Earth, and Carlton.
Carlton County is a big deal here. It hadn't voted Republican since 1928. That’s nearly a century of blue tradition gone in one night. It shows that while Minneapolis provides a massive "blue floor," the rest of the state is drifting toward the GOP.
It’s a 50-50 Split in the Statehouse
If you want to see how purple Minnesota actually is, look at the state legislature. As of early 2025, the Minnesota House was split exactly down the middle—67 Democrats and 67 Republicans. It doesn't get more "purple" than a literal tie.
This creates a weird dynamic. You have a governor like Tim Walz, who leans into progressive policies, but he has to navigate a legislature where half the room is fundamentally opposed to his agenda. This "Majority in the Middle" vibe is what actually defines Minnesota politics today.
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What’s Happening Now in 2026?
We’re currently heading toward the 2026 midterms, and the stakes are pretty high. Senator Tina Smith has announced she won't seek reelection, which has blown the doors wide open. Republicans see this as their best chance in decades to grab a statewide seat.
Current polling shows a deeply divided electorate. Recent events in Minneapolis, including heated protests over federal immigration enforcement (ICE) and debates over public safety, have exacerbated the rift between the progressive city core and the more conservative suburbs and rural towns.
Summary of the Political Landscape
To put it simply:
Minneapolis is deep blue.
The suburbs are light blue/purple.
Greater Minnesota is bright red.
Because the Twin Cities metro holds so much of the population, the "state" ends up blue on the final tally. But calling the whole place a "blue state" ignores the massive political tug-of-war happening just 30 miles outside of downtown.
Practical Next Steps for Voters and Observers:
If you're trying to understand how the next election will go, don't look at Minneapolis. We already know how they'll vote. Instead, keep your eyes on the "collar counties" like Anoka, Dakota, and Washington. These suburban areas are the true tie-breakers. You can track real-time legislative updates and voter registration trends through the Minnesota Secretary of State's office, which provides the most accurate raw data for every precinct in the state.