Immigration and fraud help drive caucus turnout in Minnesota

In a state that has nonstop drawn national attention, voters on Tuesday took the opportunity to talk about the immigration and fraud topics that have kept Minnesota in the headlines.

Precinct caucuses attended by tens of thousands of voters across Minnesota provided a place for venting as well as a chance to pick the top contenders in an open race for governor.

US Senator Amy Klobuchar has strengthened her position as the Workforce League’s front-runner and potential nominee due to the lack of big-name opposition. The party published preliminary results on Wednesday, showing Klobuchar receiving 79 percent of the votes. 16% were uncommitted, while the remainder supported other candidates or abstained from voting.

House Speaker Lisa Demuth and businessman Kendall Qualls broke away from the pack on the Republican side, with MyPillow’s Mike Lindell also in the top three.

With the almost complete results announced by the state Republican Party, Demuth recorded nearly a third of the vote, compared to 25 percent for Qualls and 17 percent for Lindell. The rest is distributed to the other candidates.

For other GOP candidates, the results could bring some campaign self-examination in the coming days, though some have vowed to push through an endorsement convention in May and into the August primary.

Non-binding polls were only a small part of the story that night. Turnout was off the charts in some locations as voters used the caucuses to express their dissatisfaction with the situation, whether it was in their own Capitol or walking out of Washington.

For Democrats, this has been the ongoing campaign against immigration after a full two months.

That was the impetus for Teresa Baker to return to the caucuses for the first time since high school.

“I have my passport in my car. I was born in St. Paul. It doesn’t matter anymore. So I have to care. I have to care,” Baker said. “I have to care.”

Aminu Warsame attended a caucus in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, an area that has been targeted for immigration measures. She said President Donald Trump’s caustic comments about the Somali people were harmful. They strengthened her resolve to elect Democrats.

“I used to agree with Republicans on some issues, right? And some values. But now, whatever those values ​​are, whatever those issues are, they don’t include me, right?” Warsame said. “It’s as if this party, their party, and the people they serve, doesn’t include me.”

On the other hand, Republican Lisa Berth of Georgetown saw Democrats as the problem in the immigration debate.

“What’s happening right now in Minnesota. People are getting hurt and killed,” Berth said at a caucus in Dilworth. “The governor told the people who rioted it was OK.”

Continuous and large protests broke out across the state, but they were mostly peaceful. Some protesters clashed with federal officers, who responded by dispersing the crowds with chemicals and making arrests.

Republicans also had another big attraction: a competitive race to be the party’s nominee for governor. This night was seen as important to separate the flock.

Qualls, who shyed away from a party endorsement four years ago, spoke at Delano High School.

“I love this country,” he said. “I fear we are facing its loss, especially here in Minnesota.” “If we don’t win it this time, we will lose our state. It will be a permanent democracy. We have a chance to win it.”

Fraud in state government programs also angered Republican caucus attendees.

“I’m really interested in standing up for our rights and opposing the fraud that’s going on here in Minnesota and learning more about it, and putting some people in positions that will do something about it,” said Bill Neeby, who gathered with his neighbors in Delano.

In Rochester, 84-year-old Anne van Rijn held her election for the first time. She said she was tired of Trump, especially his immigration actions in Minnesota. She wants Democrats to stand in Trump’s way.

“I think they can do more,” she said. “I hope they step up more.”

From here, party leaders will analyze turnout for clues about what might happen in this midterm election year. Voters who attend may run for party convention delegates. The candidates who stuck with it now know their place in the hierarchy.

Voters who have cast their ballots say they will be followed all the time.

Randy Stoker, an attendee at the Rochester GOP rally, has not yet decided who he will support in the Minnesota governor’s race. But the festival director said he is confident Republicans will do well as the economy improves. He’s happy with the way Trump is running the country.

“Sometimes he says things I don’t like. He calls people names, which I don’t think is very presidential, but I like the direction. He’s a very good decision maker,” Stocker said. “And he sticks to his guns."

Lori Siff, a registered nurse who caucus in Northfield, has as much of a chance for her party to win the governorship with Klobuchar as a potential nominee and keep the state’s other U.S. Senate seat in the hands of the DFL.

However, Siff said that if the midterms go the Democratic Party’s way, she wants political power to mean something.

“I want people to take responsibility for what is happening now and the trauma they have caused so many people,” she said. “I don’t want to sweep that under the rug."

Molly Castlework in Rochester, Peter Cox in Delano, Kate Kelly in Northfield, Nicole Key in Minneapolis and Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval in Dilworth contributed to this story.