In Minnesota, GOP eyes grab of rare Midwest Dem stronghold

TONKA BAY, Minn. (AP) — As Andrew Myers knocked on doors in a neighborhood with stunning views across Lake Minnetonka, the Republican state House hopeful got an earful from residents worried about crime in their far west Minneapolis suburb: a woman's body had washed up on shore a few doors down earlier in the week, and authorities hadn't said if it was foul play. Another family recently had their car stolen — something else that never happens in Tonka Bay.

“Public safety for sure. Taxes,” resident Scott Musjerd said, as he promised Myers his support in a district that has swung between Republicans and Democrats in recent elections.

Control of state government hangs in the balance in Minnesota — one of only three states, in addition to Alaska and Virginia, where legislative control is divided. It's also one of the few Midwest states where Democrats have had the upper hand in recent years. Buoyed by such issues as crime, and a midterm election that typically favors the party out of the White House, the GOP has hopes of capturing both chambers of the Legislature and knocking off Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.

A red wave here could mean rapid change in major policy areas such as abortion, taxes and the environment after years of shared party control — and could raise Minnesota's importance as the western edge of northern presidential battleground states that include Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

“It’s one of those elections where it’s going to be very close, and a small margin of victory in the election could produce enormous policy changes depending on the outcome,” University of Minnesota political scientist Larry Jacobs said. “The parties have dramatically different agendas, and there’s surprisingly little overlap.”

Republican rule in Minnesota would likely mean permanent tax cuts and less...