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By Mark Zdechlik, MPR News

Former President Donald Trump will be in Minnesota this week campaigning for his White House bid amid his insistence he can capture a state elusive to Republicans in November.

According to a campaign announcement on Tuesday, Trump is due to appear in St. Cloud on Saturday evening at a hockey arena. He will appear alongside his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who had already planned to be in Minnesota for a fundraiser that day.

The Trump campaign has indicated Minnesota is important to its national strategy. Trump argues he can put Minnesota in the Republican category for the first time since 1972.

Top Trump advisers emphasized their chances of winning Minnesota during the Republican National Convention, citing favorable polling and enthusiasm for their side that was stronger than what Democrats had been experiencing.

On social media Tuesday, Trump referenced recent Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s television appearances criticizing the GOP ticket.

“They make me fight battles that I shouldn’t have to fight!” Trump wrote, suggesting he is up in the polls.

There have been no independent polls since Democratic President Joe Biden left the race and made way for Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him atop the ticket. Harris is on course to win the party nomination during a virtual roll call that could happen in early August.

Trump narrowly lost Minnesota in 2016 to Hillary Clinton. Biden beat him by seven percentage points in the last presidential election, but Biden is now out of the race.

Minnesota Democrats say they’ve seen a surge in fundraising and enthusiasm since Harris gained Biden’s backing. Walz is among the potential vice presidential candidates for her.

“The energy out here exploded,” Walz said on MSNBC on Tuesday morning.

“We all broke fundraising records but that’s not what I look at — door knocks are full, phone banks are full, people are talking about what’s possible. We are finally on offense about an America where we’re all together.”