President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE\u2019s reelection campaign says it is hiring staff and opening field offices in Minnesota and New Mexico, two traditionally blue states the president\u2019s strategists have identified as having potential to flip in 2020.<\/p>\n
Still, the Trump campaign believes that both states are in play this time around.<\/p>\n
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On a conference call with reporters, a senior official said the campaign is working on a \u201chuge buildout\u201d of paid staffers and a volunteer network in Minnesota that will dwarf their 2016 efforts there.<\/p>\n
In the past election, the campaign had only one staffer on the ground in Minnesota, and that person split time in Colorado as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already have staff on the ground in Minnesota and now we\u2019re building out an infrastructure of paid staff and volunteers and you can see with that turnout from the rally last week that we\u2019ll obviously be competitive in Minnesota,\u201d the official said. \u201cSo that\u2019s one state we\u2019ll have a huge buildout and continue to build on our staff and volunteers between now and Election Day next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president has already held rallies in Minneapolis and Albuquerque this year, but the campaign\u2019s insistence that the states are in play have been met with skepticism in Washington.<\/p>\n
Minnesota has not gone for the Republican presidential nominee since 1972, although Trump fell short to Democratic nominee Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhite House\u00a0accuses Biden of pushing ‘conspiracy theories’ with Trump election claim Biden courts younger voters \u2014 who have been a weakness Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton qualifies to run for county commissioner in Florida MORE there by only 1.5 points in 2016.<\/p>\n
Former President George W. Bush narrowly won New Mexico in 2004, but the state has not been a competitive battleground since then. Clinton defeated Trump in New Mexico by more than 8 points in 2016.<\/p>\n
Democrats won back two congressional districts in Minnesota in the 2018 midterms even as they lost two other districts in the state, highlighting the turbulent politics there.<\/p>\n
Trump and his campaign are hoping that in\u00a0a presidential election year, Republicans can win back the areas they lost in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be focusing attention on these freshman members of the House, which by the way are Trump districts, districts that the president carried, if we didn\u2019t believe that public sentiment was against the Democrats in large parts of the country outside of Washington, D.C.,\u201d the campaign official said.<\/p>\n
New Mexico will likelier be a heavier lift for Trump.<\/p>\n
The campaign official said the state landed on the campaign\u2019s radar after the president held a rally in El Paso, Texas. The campaign said it noticed many people coming in for the rally from southern New Mexico and that subsequent polling indicated surprising strength for the president there.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did some polling there and we see it\u2019s very competitive … we definitely have a shot at winning in 2020,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n
In addition, the Trump campaign said it will play in New Hampshire, which Clinton carried by less than half a point in 2016.<\/p>\n
Still, most political analysts view the path to the White House going through Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n