Amanda Funderburg is a freshman honors student majoring in business at the University of Arkansas. Originally from Ardmore, Oklahoma, Amanda is a member of various organizations on campus, including Leadership Walton and a 2016-2017 Honors College Ambassador.
With less than a month until the Presidential election, all eyes are on the polls to see which candidate will clinch the coveted 270 electoral votes. In the North Star State of Minnesota, it is looking favorable for Democrat Hillary Clinton to win Minnesota’s ten electoral votes. The Land of 10,000 Lakes has favored Democrats in every election between 2000 and 2012. The last time Minnesota voted Republican in a presidential election was for Richard Nixon in 1972.
FiveThirtyEight’s weighted poll tracker on October 13th shows the likeliness of Clinton winning the state at 88.4%. In late September, the polls between Trump and Clinton tightened slightly; however, Clinton retained the lead.
Many Republican leaders are condeming Trump for the tape of him making comments about sexually harrasing women. Representative Erik Paulsen has announced he will not be voting for Trump. Other state Republican leaders have expressed disdain over the tape, but have not revoked their vote for Trump. This is not Trump’s first struggle in the state; he lost the primary to Marco Rubio. Also, due to an administrative issue, there was some concern that Trump would not appear on the ballot. The issue has been resolved and Trump will indeed be appearing on the ballot in November.
Hillary Clinton has used Bernie Sanders to campaign for her in the state. Sanders won the Democratic primary and was popular in the state. He has spoken on behalf of her campaign across the state.
Prediction: It would be a shock to the nation if Clinton lost Minnesota in November. However, as we have all seen in this election, anything can happen. We’ll all have to stay tuned until November to find out how the North Star State casts its ten electoral votes.