Renewing focus on Minnesota, Pence campaigns on the Iron Range
Updated: 5:46 p.m.
As part of a final push in a bid to help Donald Trump become the first Republican presidential nominee in nearly 50 years to win Minnesota, Vice President Mike Pence spoke at a blustery campaign event this afternoon at the Range Regional Airport in Hibbing — despite an outbreak of the coronavirus among several of his staff that was reported over the weekend.
Looking out at a bundled-up crowd that Hibbing police estimated at more than 650, Pence said, “It’s pretty obvious to me, the Iron Range is Trump Country!”
In a wide-ranging 50-minute speech, Pence touched on the military, the economy, mining, China and trade, the killing of George Floyd and what he called issues of “law and order,” the appointment of conservative judges and justices to the federal bench, religious freedom, abortion, and the coronavirus.
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Pence defended the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic, noting that he chairs the President’s task force on the virus. He said Trump “put the health of America first” when he suspended travel from China early in the pandemic.
He also praised the number of COVID-19 tests that have been conducted in the U.S. and the amount of personal protective equipment and other medical supplies that have been manufactured.
“We’ll continue to work our hearts out until the day comes when we put this coronavirus in the past,” Pence said.
The vice president was widely criticized by health experts for continuing to campaign after several of his most senior aides tested positive for COVID-19. Pence did wear a mask before and after his speech in Hibbing, and an estimated 60 percent of the crowd wore masks, said Mesabi Tribune editor Jerry Burnes, who covered the event. That was a distinct change from previous campaign events in northern Minnesota in which most attendees did not wear masks.
Still, the crowd at the Pence rally was packed tightly together, not socially distanced, as state public health officials recommend. And the size of the crowd far exceeded state public health guidelines that limit crowds to no more than 250 people.
Speaking during a state coronavirus briefing held at the same time as Pence’s event, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he was disappointed that the event exceeded the limit, saying people need to abide by a “social contract” to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
But he said he didn’t expect penalties against the event’s organizers.
People signed waivers to go to that, that said they wouldn’t hold the campaign responsible,” Walz said. “But your neighbors didn’t sign any waivers. The people who have to work that event didn’t sign any waivers.
“We want to make sure people participate in things, especially in a democracy,” Walz added. “But at this point in time, listening to a speech in a crowded area is not worth the risk.”
The crowd in Hibbing braved temperatures in the 20s to cheer on the vice president, several times chanting “four more years.”
Pence spoke directly to iron miners, and the pride the region has in its long history of mining, when he twice referenced fighting for the Iron Range’s “way of life.”
He also raised the contentious issue of copper-nickel mining. The Obama administration, Pence pointed out, withdrew mineral rights for the proposed Twin Metals copper nickel mine near Ely, just outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. In contrast, he said, the Trump administration reinstated those rights.
“From the beginning, President Trump fought to open up the Iron Range,” Pence said.
While President Trump has won the support of many rank and file mineworkers on the Iron Range, many union leaders are supporting Biden.
“Republicans like to walk around and make signs and say: 'We support mining,’ said United Steelworkers Local 1938 President John Arbogast at a news conference Sunday. “But what they don't do is they don't support the miners — the men and women that work in the mines.”
Pence’s visit was just the latest of several campaign swings through northern Minnesota for the Trump ticket. Pence spoke in Duluth in late August, followed by the president a month later. He’s also campaigned in Bemidji. Two of Trump’s children, Ivanka and Don Jr., have also appeared in Duluth in recent months.
Despite all that attention, it appeared last week that Trump was walking back his long-stated goal of becoming the first Republican to carry Minnesota in nearly half a century. But now the campaign says it's putting a renewed focus on Minnesota in the last week before the election.
In addition to Pence’s appearance, Trump is also investing in a heavy TV commercial presence, along with staffers and volunteers on the ground.
Pence’s visit comes shortly after his chief of staff, Marc Short, and other key staff tested positive for COVID-19. The campaign said the vice president decided to continue campaigning after consulting with medical advisors and “in accordance with the CDC guidelines for essential personnel.”
In advance of Pence’s visit to the Iron Range, Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s campaign released a statement saying the current vice president “won’t be able to defend this administration’s failed record on COVID-19 because it is indefensible.” So far, more than 2,300 Minnesotans have died from the virus, and case numbers have surged in recent weeks, especially in rural areas.
Biden has campaigned only once in Minnesota, at a small, invite-only event at a union training center near Duluth in September, although his wife Jill has twice campaigned in the Twin Cities on his behalf.
Statewide polls have consistently shown Biden with a lead over the president. Four years ago Trump lost by fewer than 45,000 votes.
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