Trump will stump in Minnesota, traditionally blue state he insists he can win. Is it really in play?

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s planned campaign visit to Minnesota on Friday will mark his return to a traditionally Democratic state that he has long argued he could carry.

Trump will take a break from his hush money trial in New York to speak at the Minnesota GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan fundraising dinner. Tickets start at $500, ranging up to $100,000 for a VIP table for 10 with three photo opportunities with Trump. The dinner coincides with the party’s state convention.

Trump’s new state campaign chair is House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, who’s supporting Trump even though the former president and his allies were instrumental in blocking Emmer’s attempt to become speaker last fall.

It’s unclear whether the Trump campaign will get any of the money raised. The campaign did not respond to an emailed request for comment, and Emmer declined an interview request. His co-host for the dinner, Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman David Hann, also did not respond.

Trump came close to taking Minnesota and its 10 electoral votes in 2016, when he fell 1.5 percentage points short of Hillary Clinton in a state that no Republican presidential candidate has won since Richard Nixon in 1972. He returned to Minnesota several times in 2020, but Democrat Joe Biden beat him by more than 7 percentage points when he tried for a second term.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> A new Democratic ad campaign targets one of Trump’s most loyal blocs: Rural voters