Trump cam­paign puts reli­ably blue Min­neso­ta and Vir­ginia back in play to flip red

Top offi­cials in for­mer Pres­i­dent Don­ald Trump’s cam­paign for reelec­tion believe the rel­a­tive­ly blue states of Min­neso­ta and Vir­ginia are in play for the GOP ahead of the 2024 gen­er­al elec­tion.
Since 2008, Vir­ginia has vot­ed for a Demo­c­ra­t­ic pres­i­dent con­sis­tent­ly. Min­neso­ta has been vot­ing Democ­rats into the pres­i­den­cy for much longer, hav­ing vot­ed con­sis­tent­ly blue since 1976.
“We have a real, real oppor­tu­ni­ty in expand­ing the map in Vir­ginia and Min­neso­ta,” senior Trump advis­er Chris LaCivi­ta told NBC News. 
Next week, Trump is set to host a GOP annu­al din­ner in Min­neso­ta, which will mark his first vis­it to the state this cam­paign sea­son.
“We are thrilled to wel­come Pres­i­dent Trump back to Min­neso­ta to head­line our Lin­coln Rea­gan din­ner, an annu­al tra­di­tion that reminds us of the roots of our Par­ty and the lead­ers who have been most impact­ful in pro­mot­ing our Amer­i­can val­ues,” Min­neso­ta Repub­li­can Par­ty Chair­man David Hann said in a state­ment.
Min­neso­ta Democ­rats expressed skep­ti­cism about Trump’s chances in the state. In 2016, he lost Min­neso­ta by more than 43,000 votes, and in 2020 he lost the state by a much wider marg …