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Minnesota has a real Republican governor and one Republican Senator.

Minnesota had a great 2002. 2004 and 2006 were bloodbaths for Republicans in that state. Pawlenty was barely reelected (thank his opponent for calling a reporter "a whore" in October) and Coleman will have a difficult race next year. Mark Kennedy lost his open senate race by 20 points! Kean, Jr. did a lot better than that.

In addition, New Jersey's House delegation is 7-6 Democrat, while Minnesota's is a more lopsided 5-3 with one of them unseating an incumbent Republican last year.

There are a lot of swing voters in N.J. ready to support the right Republican. Minnesota was there several years ago, but antipathy to Bush cut short that trend.

You make good points, but I would attribute it more to old-fashioned Midwestern isolationism rather than lieberalism. Did you grow up in the midwest?

Comparing the straight party affiliations is also misleading. Minnesota's House Republican are all solid conservatives and one of the Democrats (Colin Peterson, 7th district) is a genuine blue dog (votes with conservatives sometimes because he beleives it, not to cover his rear end because he's marginal). I wonder how many of NJ's Republicans are merely RINOs. And I don't mean slight RINOs like Norm Coleman. Norm's a good guy and is probably the most conservative fellow you could elect in a statewide congressional race.

You can do slightly better in an executive position (see Pawlenty) because the mushy middle sheeple are less inclined to tinkle in their own water supply than in the whole country's.