Recently you referred to Minnesota as a “purple state” and as a lifelong resident it kind of made me clench my jaw haha. There’s a strong Republican population, however they’ve never really had any political standing within the state (besides the north) since 1932 (exclude 3 voting cycles 1952, ‘56, and ‘72). If anything I feel like we’re a remarkably known democratic state that continuously votes blue. Sure, the gaps between parties can be small, but we’ve STILL voted blue. Like most states, the less central you get the more republican it becomes. I don’t think that’s a Minnesota exclusive thing that categorizes us as “purple”.