Minnesota voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence against DFL nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and her running mate Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.

[2] Despite Trump flipping numerous Midwestern states, some of which had not voted Republican since the 1980s, Minnesota was still won with a plurality by Clinton with a 1.51% margin, the eleventh consecutive Democratic presidential win in the state, which has not voted for a Republican since the landslide reelection of Richard Nixon in 1972.

However, this was the closest presidential election in Minnesota since 1984, when Walter Mondale carried the state by a 0.18% margin and it was the only state not carried by Ronald Reagan that year; it is also the lowest winning percentage for any Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton in 1996.

The state also voted to the right of the national average for the first time since 1952, with Trump flipping nineteen counties.

[4] The Green Party of Minnesota held caucuses on March 1 in Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Bemidji, White Bear Lake, Blaine, Grand Rapids, and Willmar.

Gary Johnson took over 75% of the 226 first-preference votes cast, with John McAfee a distant second on 11.5% and Austin Petersen third on 7.5%.

[27] [28] Minnesota voted 6.2 percent less Democratic from the 2012 presidential election, a much larger shift than the nation at large.

This election marked the first time since 1952 that the Democratic candidate performed worse in Minnesota than in the nation at large.

Nonetheless, he became the first-ever Republican to win the White House without carrying Olmsted County.