Commentary: Minnesota's myth of exceptionalism
The assassination and attempted assassination of two Minnesota legislators should shatter, once and for all, the myth of Minnesota exceptionalism. The reality is that Minnesota has become a microcosm of the polarization and political tensions plaguing the United States today. It is, in effect, two states — separate and, if not unequal, at least very different.
The myth of Minnesota exceptionalism runs deep. Minnesotans often celebrate what they believe is the uniqueness of their culture. This sentiment can be traced back to one of Minnesota's most famous writers, Sinclair Lewis, who satirized local boosterism through the character of George Babbitt.
It lives on in the 1973 Time magazine cover featuring then-Gov. Wendell Anderson with the proclamation 'The Good Life in Minnesota.' Or in the pastoral image of Garrison Keillor's 'Prairie Home Companion,' with its portrait of a place 'where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.'
Minnesota is known for its legacy of progressive Democratic politicians — Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Eugene McCarthy, and Paul Wellstone. The political scientist Daniel Elazar famously described the state as having a 'moralistic political culture' rooted in volunteerism and civic engagement. Minnesota consistently ranks among the highest in the nation in voter turnout, per capita income, and high school graduation rates. It is also the land of 'Minnesota Nice,' a concept suggesting decency and civility in public life.
Yet beneath the surface of this Minnesota Nice lies another reality. The murder of George Floyd five years ago should have laid that bare. Minnesota has some of the worst racial disparities in the country. While white students thrive, graduation rates, college matriculation, and standardized test scores for students of color are among the nation's worst. Racial gaps persist in housing, employment, and the criminal justice system.
Politically and geographically, Minnesota is deeply divided. Though often labeled a reliably Democratic state — having last voted Republican for president in 1972 — Donald Trump came close to winning in both 2016 and 2024. The state legislature is nearly evenly split: The state Senate has 34 Democrats and 33 Republicans, and before Melissa Hortman was assassinated, the lower house had 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans. Minnesota is one of just three states with a divided legislature, as political trifectas dominate much of the rest of the country.
As I've argued for years, Minnesota is a political swing state. Sharp partisan divides exist between regions, with only about a dozen of the state's 87 counties consistently voting Democratic. Drive just 20 miles from where Hortman was assassinated, and the political terrain shifts rapidly. In 2024, one might see yard signs flip from Harris to Trump in a single stretch of highway.
Geography divides us, but so too does culture. The same moralistic spirit that once defined Minnesota's politics now fuels passionate polarization. In 2022, Democrats briefly held a narrow trifecta and enacted a sweeping agenda that national Democrats could only dream of — codifying abortion rights in ways more expansive than Roe v. Wade. Despite being broadly pro-choice, the state also contains strongholds of intense opposition to reproductive rights.
If this description of Minnesota sounds a lot like the United States more broadly, it is because it is. Minnesota is both unique and yet fully enmeshed in the same political, cultural, and ideological battles gripping the nation. It reflects the breakdown of political consensus and the rising temperature of our public discourse.
The political assassinations in Minnesota were the first in its history. And yet, many friends, neighbors, and observers across the state and country still think — like the title of another Sinclair Lewis novel — that 'It Can't Happen Here.' But it did. And it can. In a state long thought exceptional, we must now ask: What does this tell us about the degeneration of political discourse in America today?
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Schultz is a Hamline University distinguished professor of political science and legal studies in Saint Paul, Minn.
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