MANKATO — Both President Joe Biden and Donald Trump got more love from Mankato-area voters in Tuesday’s Democratic and Republican presidential primary elections than they did in Minnesota overall.
Trump won 68.94% of the Republican vote across Minnesota, according to final tallies in the presidential primary, but barely topped 50% in some metro area counties.
Among the nine counties surrounding Mankato, only Nicollet County (68.97%) and Blue Earth County (69.3%) provided less than 70% support for Trump. Faribault County led the way with nearly 78% of Republican voters favoring the former president over his last remaining GOP challenger — former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who suspended her campaign Wednesday morning after losing every Super Tuesday contest other than Vermont.
It was a similar story for Biden, who won 70.1% of the Democratic vote in Tuesday’s statewide primary but exceeded that margin throughout south-central Minnesota. Democratic voters in several area counties were more favorable toward Biden challenger Dean Phillips, the DFL congressman in Minnesota’s 3rd District who withdrew from the race Wednesday afternoon, than metro-area voters were. Mankato-area residents, however, showed much less interest in joining a Twin Cities-based effort to send Biden a message — via an “uncommitted” vote — opposing his support of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Looking at the votes of all Minnesotans participating in the Republican primary, Haley had the support of 28.8%. But in the Minneapolis-dominated 5th Congressional District, she beat Trump 50% to 47%.
Biden won just over 70% statewide, followed by 18.8% who chose “uncommitted” and 7.8% who opted for Phillips. In the 5th District, by far Minnesota’s most liberal, the president failed to get 60% of the Democratic vote and nearly a third of voters cast uncommitted ballots.
Following are the tallies for Mankato-area counties in the Republican and Democratic primaries:
Blue Earth County: Trump 2,624 (69.3%), Haley 1,061 (28%); Biden 1,733 (75.3%), uncommitted 292 (12.7%), Phillips 157 (6.8%).
Brown County: Trump 1,552 (72%), Haley 558 (25.9%); Biden 502 (80.3%), uncommitted 57 (9.1%), Phillips 47 (7.5%).
Faribault County: Trump 1,052 (77.6%), Haley 258 (19%); Biden 252 (75.7%), Phillips 31 (9.3%), uncommitted 28 (8.4%).
Le Sueur County: Trump 1,973 (74.5%), Haley 606 (22.9%); Biden 646 (75%), Phillips 99 (11.5%), uncommitted 72 (8.4%).
Martin County: Trump 1,104 (77.2%), Haley 304 (21.2%); Biden 301 (84.3%), uncommitted 33 (9.2%), Phillips 15 (4.2%).
Nicollet County: Trump 1,629 (69%), Haley 678 (28.7%); Biden 1,002 (73.9%), uncommitted 176 (13%), Phillips 111 (8.2%).
Sibley County: Trump 972 (74.7%), Haley 296 (22.7%); Biden 253 (72.3%), Phillips 51 (14.6%), uncommitted 24 (6.9%).
Waseca County: Trump 999 (76.1%), Haley 293 (22.3%); Biden 316 (78.4%), uncommitted 37 (9.2%), Phillips 32 (7.9%).
Watonwan County: Trump 638 (73.7%), Haley 203 (23.4%); Biden 251 (80.7%), Phillips 33 (10.6%), uncommitted 16 (5.1%).
For comparison, just 53% of the 50,528 Hennepin County residents casting ballots in the Republican primary voted for Trump compared to 45% for Haley. On the Democratic side, 85,655 ballots were cast in Hennepin County — 63% for Biden, 25% for uncommitted and 9% for Phillips.
Across Minnesota, 337,731 people voted Republican Tuesday, up from 140,555 in 2020 when Trump was the only name on the ballot. That compares with 244,290 casting ballots in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, which was down from 744,198 four years ago when a wide-open nomination contest resulted in a Minnesota ballot featuring Biden and U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar.
There was one more party involved in Tuesday’s Minnesota primary election, but the Legal Marijuana Now Party attracted just 2,650 voters statewide. Krystal Gabel won that party’s presidential primary, beating Dennis Schuller and Vermin Supreme.