Flyover land no longer, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin will collectively offer candidates a tantalizingly big prize during the fall general-election campaign.
All told, the three Upper Midwestern states have 27 electoral votes, more than the quadrennial battleground of Ohio (20) and the same number as Florida.
And while no Republican candidate has captured Minnesota since 1972, the state has become increasingly competitive. In 2004, John Kerry took Minnesota by just 3.5 percentage points, his fifth smallest margin of victory. Candidates have focused more attention here during the past two election cycles, and this year the Republican National Convention's meeting in St. Paul in September will intensify the spotlight.
Minnesota's neighbors, meanwhile, are even more closely divided. Iowa went Republican in 2004, and Wisconsin went Democratic, each by well under 1 percentage point.
It all adds up to candidates pouring money and time into the region in the year ahead.
