Even With Antigay Initiative, Romney Gives Up on Minnesota

Pawlenty speaking (with Romney's image in the background)

Somewhat surprisingly, the home of Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty has voted Democratic in the past nine presidential elections. Maybe that's why, even with an antigay initiative on this year's ballot, GOP candidate Mitt Romney has all but given up on winning Minnesota.

Time posits why the Romney camp hasn't invested in the state, even with a initiative on the ballot that could constitutionally ban marriage equality there. The assumption is that the initiative will bring out more conservatives, hence more votes for Romney (the magazine says the measure has a slight lead among voters). But the former governor of Massachusetts has not opened a campaign office in Minnesota nor marshaled many resources there, except to collect checks at a fund-raising dinner.

One major issue is that Minnesotans already vote in huge numbers; nearly 78% of eligible voters cast ballots in 2008. With numbers like that, there are fewer voters to get to the polls who didn't go already.

Read more about Minnesota's special circumstances.