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Obama wins Minnesota
Published 9:59pm Tuesday, November 4, 2008MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A GOP drive to tug Minnesota into their presidential column for the first time in 36 years fell short Tuesday with Democrat Barack Obama’s decisive win over John McCain in the state where Republicans held their national convention.
The call for the Illinois senator was based on an analysis of voter interviews, conducted for The Associated Press by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International. It was made soon after polls closed at 8 p.m. CST. With 20 percent of precincts reporting, Obama had 55 percent of the vote.
Obama collected the state’s 10 electoral votes and extended a Democratic winning streak to nine elections. It’s a Democratic Party lock longer than any other in the country.
Obama marched through the Upper Midwest. Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin also went his way.
Jeff Blodgett, Obama’s state director, said the easy victory belied the fact that Republicans put up a hard fight. He said the economy and Obama’s deep organization in communities throughout Minnesota made the difference.
“The American people have asked for change and I am really proud the people of Minnesota helped,” Blodgett said.
Obama captured nine in 10 voters who based their vote on a candidate’s ability to bring about change, according to the exit poll. He also made inroads in typically Republican areas, incluing the collar of suburbs around the Twin Cities — an area that Bush won by about 10 points in 2004 even as he lost the state. Obama was also leading in the conservative, rural west. In the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, the exit poll showed him with about 70 percent support.
“The dynamics of Minnesota somewhat mimicked those of the rest of the country,” Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a prominent McCain supporter, said on CBS. “You have the political backwash of the last eight years that people were concerned about. Number two you had a historic bottom dropping out of the economy.”
The state flirted with battleground status in 2008. McCain and Obama touched down in Minnesota at critical points, they plowed millions of dollars into TV ads and McCain seriously considered putting Pawlenty on his ticket.
In early June, Obama filled St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center to declare victory in the Democratic Party’s drawn-out primary battle. Three months later, McCain stood in the same arena to collect the GOP’s nomination.
McCain hung around after September’s Republican National Convention in St. Paul, using a burst of television ads and visits to produce a close race. But by the campaign’s closing weeks, polls almost universally showed Obama had muscled his way to a clear lead.
Six in 10 voters told exit pollsters they made up their mind before September, and well over half backed Obama.
Shannon Burns, a 38-year-old hairstylist, snapped a photo of herself and her young daughter outside a St. Paul polling place where she cast a vote for Obama. Burns, who is black, reflected on the ay while basketball’s Kevin Johnson and boxing’s Joe Mesi were looking to win elections on a night when more than a dozen sports figures ran for office.
Craig Robinson wasn’t listed on any ballot, but depending on the night’s results the first-year Oregon State basketball coach could soon be a frequent White House visitor. Robinson was in Chicago awaiting the outcome of the presidential race with his family, which includes brother-in-law Barack Obama.
Shuler, a Heisman Trophy runner-up at Tennessee who played quarterback for the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints, won in his first bid for re-election to Congress.
Shuler is a North Carolina Democrat whose district is in the state’s western mountains. He defeated Carl Mumpower, who had irritated local Republican officials by saying he would support efforts to impeach President Bush.
Wyche coached in the NFL with Cincinnati and Tampa Bay and made it to the Super Bowl with the Bengals after the 1988 season. He ran as a Republican and won a seat on the Pickens County Council in South Carolina, an area that includes Clemson University.
Wyche, once a quarterback at nearby Furman, had 80 percent of the vote with all but three precincts reporting. He promised better roads and schools and more jobs.
Johnson, a former NBA All-Star, was running for mayor of Sacramento, Calif. The one-time point guard of the Phoenix Suns is trying to raise the profile of his hometown in this run-off election and become the city’s first black mayor.
The 42-year-old Democrat with conservative social views was facing two-term incumbent Heather Fargo and has gotten the backing of basketball celebrities Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley.
“We should be a destination place,” Johnson said leading to the election, bemoaning his city’s image beside the likes of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Mesi has never been beaten in the ring and was once a top heavyweight contender. At one time, the 34-year-old New Yorker had to stop fighting for two years because of bleeding in his brain. He was running as a Democrat for the state Senate in New York and had the support of Buffalo Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano.
Apart from Shuler, others in the House up for re-election were Rep. Baron Hill, a former Furman basketball player, and Rep. Norm Dicks, an ex-linebacker at the University of Washington. Former BYU kicker Jason Chaffetz was running for Congress in Utah after beating the incumbent in the Republican primary.
Sports was on the sidelines for the U.S. Senate races. The only ones with jock connections were not up for election — Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, a Hall of Fame pitcher, and Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Joey Browner, a former Pro Bowl safety with the Minnesota Vikings, sought a place on the City Council in the Minneapolis suburb of Eagan.
In state legislative races, Peter Boulware, a former star linebacker at Florida State, was seeking a seat in Florida. Bob Heaton, who played with Larry Bird at Indiana State, was on the ballot in Indiana.
Former major league baseball player Randy Bass was bidding for the Oklahoma Legislature as were two former college football players — Todd Thomsen at Oklahoma and Tad Jones at Tulsa. Anton Gunn, a former lineman at South Carolina, was going after a seat in the state where he played in college.
In Hawaii, Mufi Hannemann, a 6-foot-7 former Harvard basketball player, was eyeing another term as Honolulor re-election to Congress.
Shuler is a North Carolina Democrat whose district is in the state’s western mountains. He defeated Carl Mumpower, who had irritated local Republican officials by saying he would support efforts to impeach President Bush.
Wyche coached in the NFL with Cincinnati and Tampa Bay and made it to the Super Bowl with the Bengals after the 1988 season. He ran as a Republican and won a seat on the Pickens County Council in South Carolina, an area that includes Clemson Universityo and has gotten the backing of basketball celebrities Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley.
“We should be a destination place,” Johnson said leading to the election, bemoaning his city’s image beside the likes of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Mesi has never been beaten in the ring and was once a top heavyweight contender. At one time, the 34-year-old New Yorker had to stop fighting for two years because of bleeding in his brain. He was running as a Democrat for the state Senate in New York and had the support of Buffalo Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano.
Apart from Shuler, others in the House up for re-election were Rep. Baron Hill, a former Furman basketball player, and Rep. Norm Dicks, an ex-linebacker at the University of Washington. Former BYU kicker Jason Chaffetz was running for Congress in Utah after beating the incumbent in the Republican primary.
Sports was on the sidelines for the U.S. Senate races. The only ones with jock connections were not up for election — Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, a Hall of Fame pitcher, and Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Joey Browner, a former Pro Bowl safety with the Minnesota Vikings, sought a place on the City Council in the Minneapolis suburb of Eagan.
In state legislative races, Peter Boulware, a former star linebacker at Florida State, was seeking a seat in Florida. Bob Heaton, who played with Larry Bird at Indiana State, was on the ballot in Indiana.
Former major league baseball player Randy Bass was bidding for the Oklahoma Legislature as were two former college football players — Todd Thomsen at Oklahoma and Tad Jones at Tulsa. Anton Gunn, a former lineman at South Carolina, was going after a seat in the state where he played in college.
In Hawaii, Mufi Hannemann, a 6-foot-7 former Harvard basketball player, was eyeing another term as Honolulu’s mayor.
Sports and family were not limited to the Obamas. Connie Mack, the great grandson of the legendary manager, was running for re-election as a Florida congressman. George Unseld, the brother of NBA great Wes Unseld, scored a lopsided victory for a spot on the Louisville (Ky.) Metro Council.
And Michael Victorino, the father of Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino, was running unopposed in Hawaii for the Maui County Council.
Among ballot measures tied to sports, Massachusetts voted to ban greyhound racing.
