POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

"It's leaders...have played anincreasingly prominent role in national life, far out of proportion to the state's modest two percent of the national population." - Neal Pierce, late 20th Century chronicler of American states - He subtitled his chapter on Minnesota "The Successful Society"

The State of Minnesota joined the union in 1858.  Its Constitution has an interesting history of being drafted by both Republican and Democratic conventions - and then having both texts harmonized to form one cohesive guiding rule of law for the state.  The State Capitol building in St. Paul serves as an impressive monument to the historic stability of the Minnesota polity.

Minnesota is known traditionally as a bastian of blue collar Democratic values. The Democratic Party in the state is actually called the Democratic-Farm-Laborer Party (DFL).  The face of Minnesota politics in the past has been the familiar faces of Vice-Presidents Walter Mondale and Hubert Humphrey, and the late Senator Paul Wellstone. (LINK ON EACH PICTURE)

Minnesota's internal political divisions - counties, townships, cities, school, and special districts are products of its unique character formed by years of popular demand and government action.  The many different nationalities that have made Minnesota their home have formed strong connections with their land, their state, and each other -  first and foremost through these political subdivisions. Minnesota prides itself on its high "quality of life" for its citizens.  Its people are confident of their future primarily due to their successful political systems.  Known for being a bulwark for the Democratic Party, the Minnesota electorate is also fiercely independent. For example, in 1998 Minnesota didn't elect either a Democrat or Republican as its governor.  Instead, they elected former pro-wrestler Jesse "The Body" Ventura. And then four years later elected current Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty! Minnesota is also a product of its sectional location.  Bound by social, economic, and especially political similarities, Minnesota finds itself as part of the greater sectional band of the Interior Northwest - one of the first frontier regions.  This section was defined by railroads, and re-inforced by institutional and political patterns of the late 19th century, and one of the first binding forces was The Twin cities newspapers that found circulation across Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Montana.

The New Minnesota Political Alignment?

LINK ON EACH PICTURE

Norm Coleman, US Senator (R)

Tim Pawlenty, Governor (R)

Recently there seems to be a slight shift in Minnesota politics.  In 2000, Al Gore won Minnesota by just over two percentage points - and in 2002 Minnesotans elected a Republican Governor.  Then in a special election to replace the late Senator Paul Wellstone (one of the most liberal politicians in the country) Minnesotans elected former Mayor of St. Paul Republican Norm Coleman to the seat.  This is actually not surprising, because Minnesotans are also a conservative, family values oriented people.  When one party seems to stray too far to one end of the political spectrum - Minnesotans tend to pull back the reins.  After all - this is the Midwest, middle America, and the center of the political center.   Further evidence of this shift is this current presidential election - Minnesota is a currently a toss-up state with both Bush and Kerry splitting the vote almost evenly!

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