life that shaped our leaders, challenges they faced and legacies they have left behind. order your copy today. the president is available as a hardcover or e-book at c-span.org/the presidency. minnesota has selected a democrat in the past four presidential elections. >> up next we speak with minnesota public radio senior reporter katherine richard about the state's changing electorate and what changes could mean for 2020. >> what we have seen is a state that has been democratic, starting to become more purple. hillary clinton barely won minnesota in 2016. now it has become a pretty strong battleground for republican candidates, and i think we are going to see that play out in 2020 as well.

i think you really need to look at a couple of congressional districts in minnesota to see where this change is happening. the first is the 8th district. that is north of here in the duluth area. duluth is becoming a more progressive city, and the rest is the iron range, where iron mining and mining has been sort of a big industry for so long. that has become increasingly red, and they just recently elected their first republican candidate to the house of representatives for the first time in a long time. down here in the first congressional distinct in rochester, over the last decade we have elected democrat tim wallace to office. he is now or governor. one reason he decided not to run is that this district voted for donald trump in 2016, and he barely won his re-election campaign. so in 2018 they elected a republican candidate.

the results of the 2016 presidential election depends on who you are asking. in my area down here in rochester, you drive 20 minutes in any direction and you are still going to see some trump signs in people's yards. what is very interesting is because of the strong agricultural community in southeast minnesota, a lot of these farmers have been hit hard by some of these trade fights that the trump administration has been involved in. yet when you talk to these farmers, they will say we are going to take some pain in the short term for what is hopefully a long-term play. trade is played out as an interesting policy to see how people are feeling about the trump presidency. my sense is if they voted for him in 2016, chances are they are going to vote for him again even if they are frustrated with some of the policies that that have affected their everyday lives. i think the impact of the 2016 election and how things played out in 2018 came down to rate by -- race by race.

you saw a solidly blue district go for a republican for the first time in a long time down here it was the same dynamic. in the twin cities you saw people elect very progressive members of congress, omar being one of them, who aligned herself with this group of young, very progressive members of congress. supporting things like the green new dual. two things that really come out to me when i look at the election of omar. first of all we see democrats in minnesota electing someone to congress who is extremely progressive. i would also say it represents a watershed moment in what minnesota looks like, how diverse we are becoming. the twin cities is a hub for refugees, specifically somali americans, as is rochester. we have a lot of somali americans in this area too.

the fact that she was elected speaks to the fact that we are becoming a diverse state. people in those communities really have a voice in politics for the first time. people from minnesota are notoriously dedicated to civic life. we have voter turnout that exceeds many states in the nation, even in primaries. my recollection is the 2018 primary was extraordinarily high on election day. we are going to continue to see that, especially wit one of our -- when one of our own on the ballot. that will motivate people. >> i stand before you as the first woman elected to the united states senate from the state of minnesota. two announced my candidacy for presidency of the united states. >> things to know about her is she has been extraordinarily pop -- popular since she entered office. her approval ratings have been

very high and that has not changed since she decided to run for president. she is well liked. i think the big question is whether her career so far representing minnesota is something that appeals to democrats more widely. the criticism locally of her is that she has been too safe. she hasn't taken on really big challenging issues, and she has been dismissive of some of the big ideas that you hear democrats talking about. then again if you talk to other democrats in the state, they may say she is the perfect colt -- candidate because she can bridge the divide between the coasts and middle america. she can play well with blue collar voters that we lost to donald trump. she might be the perfect candidate to bridge that gap, but again it depends on who shows up on primary day and what they are looking for. this minnesota primary is on march 3rd.

putting it on march 3rd puts minnesota at the front end of deciding who the democratic candidate will be. i think it certainly bumps things up earlier in the process whereas we were having these long drawn-out caucuses later in the summer previously. i think that maybe create -- created some angst around party divisions between who the party would support. it also motivates people to get out a little earlier as well. my sense about minnesota's interest in this presidential campaign is that it would be high even if amy was not on the ticket because they are keenly interested in how president donald trump will fair, whether he will have another four years or now. they love to vote, so i am sure they will all be out there in droasts on primary and election day. the issue i hear the most about is health care. i think one reason that is, is because we actually have a very robust health care system in minnesota both from private insurance, we have major

hospitals, not just the mayo clinic, but others. but we also have a pretty strong health care safety net. we expanded medicaid under obama care, and we have a third program that is a step blow commercial health insurance but a step above medicade. what has that is created is a -- step above medicaid. what has that is created is a fair amount of angst and questioning about how much it costs to get health care, especially in southern minnesota where you have the mayo clinic driving prices. the thing i will be watching most closely into 2020 is what is happening in my district, the southern district of minnesota. the reason is we barely elected a republican back in 2018. and the year before that, we barely elected a democrat. i think anyone who wins here is going to win on the margins, and i think it is a good indicator of how the rest of the state is

going to go. i think the reason why people living in other states would be interested in watching minnesota, especially during the primary season is because i think it could be a bellweather for how other midwestern states will express their vote. if minnesota votes for someone in the primary who is more moderate, that would be an indicator that other midwestern states are feeling the same way. and because minnesota has gained a reputation in the last few years for being more of a battleground, i would be watching it more closely if i was still a reporter in washington, d.c. to see how voters feel here. >> rochester, minnesota, is one of many cities we have toured to explore the american story. to watch more of our visit to rochester and other cities across the country, go to c-span.org/citiestour. you are watching american history tv all weekend every weekend on c-span 3.

thoughtsuses on their regarding the relationship between individuality and conformity in america and considers the relevant of their analysis today.