Donald Trump, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson and Dr. Jill Stein, don’t forget Fargo.
Sure, it makes illogical sense to stop in Fargo. The town resides in a state that has a strong red voting record which borders a strong blue state, with not much of a swing vote in-between.
Statistically speaking, Fargo area voters on both the Minnesota and North Dakota sides will not influence a presidential election.
That being said, Fargo does have one golden thing that can influence a presidential election — college students.
Between North Dakota State, Minnesota State University Moorhead and Concordia College there are around 20,000 to 25,000 college students who are deciding who to vote for, the majority of whom are Minnesotans and North Dakotans.
The kicker here is that both North Dakota and Minnesota picked not-winning candidates, save for the republicans of North Dakota who did not choose a candidate directly.
Approximately 61.6 percent of Minnesotan voters chose Bernie Sanders to Hillary Clinton’s 38.4 percent, the New York Times reported. The New York Times also reported that Minnesotans chose Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz over the now Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Sanders also beat Clinton in North Dakota 64.2 percent to 25.6 percent, respectively.
So to you Mr. Trump, I say come to Fargo. Come here because you have been constantly trying to swoop up Bernie voters who are opposed to Secretary Clinton’s rhetoric. Winning Fargo area voters could help you claim a guaranteed victory in North Dakota and put a legitimate dent in Clinton’s history-backed, almost guaranteed Minnesota.
To you, Secretary Clinton, come here for the same reason. Not all Bernie supporters will make the jump from democratic socialist to Donald Trump’s brand of conservatism, and thus there is still an audience for you here. Like in Trump’s case, it could help you seal the deal on Minnesota and possibly put a threat into Trump’s standing with the traditionally red North Dakota.
To you, Governor Johnson and Dr. Stein , come to Fargo because college students are going against the mainstream this year. Primary voting shows that students in the area did not want to support Trump or Clinton. You’re fighting an uphill battle, but this demographic could put a dent in the current election and leave a solid foothill for you to grow your parties’ platforms in future elections.
Sure, Fargo may be a slightly larger small town located in a fly over state, but at the very least stop by on your way to or from Minneapolis.
I’m sure all of the uncertain voters in the area would like to hear what you have to say.