Four years earlier Minnesota had been the only state in the entire country to vote for Democrat Walter Mondale over Republican Ronald Reagan, and this Democratic strength in the state endured in 1988, as Minnesota chose Michael Dukakis by a comfortable margin despite George H.W. Bush winning a convincing victory nationwide. Minnesota has the longest streak of voting Democratic of any state, having not voted Republican since 1972.
As of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, this is the last time Minnesota voted to the right of neighboring Iowa, as well as the last time in which Clay County voted for a losing presidential candidate, excluding 2024.