Turnout push drives candidates' last-minute campaign efforts

(KMSP) - Democrats and Republicans campaigned across Minnesota on Monday, urging campaign volunteers to get voters to the polls.

This year's turnout push comes with a twist: a near-record 539,000 people had voted early, meaning many voters receiving Election Day reminders had already cast ballots. 

"At this point, it’s all about voting," said U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, as she stood outside a DFL campaign bus that featured a giant image of her face.

Democratic statewide candidates -- with the exception of DFL attorney general candidate Keith Ellison -- have held mid- to high-single-digit leads in public polling. Ellison's race with GOP rival Doug Wardlow has been closer, with polls mixed on who's ahead in recent weeks.

Democrats have the task of turning the activism, anticipation and anger against President Donald Trump over the past two years into election wins. DFL Chairman Ken Martin warned party volunteers that it won't be automatic.

"If we want to win tomorrow, we’ve got to make a blue wave happen," he said at a campaign office on the north side of Minneapolis.

Meanwhile, Republicans are fighting back. They're defending their majorities in Congress and the Minnesota legislature, aiming to back up their surprise 2016 success that swept President Trump into office.

"I’m feeling it’s all a red wave. That’s what I’m really, really feeling on the ground," said GOP U.S. Senate candidate Karin Housley, who faces Smith.

Early voting, which has been expanded in recent election cycles in Minnesota, was going strong Monday. The polling place at Plymouth City Hall was supposed to close at 5 p.m., but a few dozen people were still in line as of 5:15 p.m.

The 539,000 people who had voted as of Monday morning was about 29,000 votes short of the record set in 2016, the Minnesota Secretary of State's office said in a news release.

Republicans are seeking to pull off upsets again this year, including a victory for Housley. She and Smith are vying to serve out the two years remaining on Al Franken's term, who resigned late last year amid sexual misconduct allegations.

President Trump's agenda is on the ballot, Housley said.

"I’ve seen the polls, (I'm) down 3, down 6, down 8," she said at a Republican campaign office in Plymouth. "But I’m feeling we’re going to come out up 2 (points) if everyone comes out to vote."

Many Democrats have also framed the election to their supporters as a referendum on President Trump.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, the DFL candidate for governor, said Minnesota had an opportunity to stop the president's agenda.

"They have misread Minnesota as badly as they possibly could," Walz said. "They’re telling us that we’re fearful and afraid. Minnesotans don’t fear the future. We create it."

The DFL campaign bus stopped Monday in Minneapolis, Duluth and St. Paul. Republican candidates campaigned separately, with GOP governor candidate Jeff Johnson making several stops at breweries and restaurants in Greater Minnesota. 

Both parties' campaign offices will wind down by Tuesday. Both candidates in the U.S. Senate special election said volunteers had made more than 1 million phone calls on their behalf.