Seeing some red in Minneapolis’ sea of blue
Shawn Holster, president and chair of the Minneapolis Republican Party, is a born and raised southerner — at least mostly, he says.
"I was raised across the continental United States. I was not a military brat. I was an industry brat. My family built factories and we moved every six months," he said.
But in 1999, Holster, a lifelong Republican, found himself settling down in Minneapolis, a deeply liberal city. As for what brought Holster to settle in Minneapolis? "It was the furthest thing from New Orleans," where he'd lived for a decade prior to his move.
"What I liked about the Twin Cities when I moved here back in 1999 was not seeing it devolve into the New Orleans of the 1990s," Holster said. "I came here because I didn't want the violence. I didn't want the corruption. I didn't want to have to lock my doors three times over. I had to do that in New Orleans. It was a ... war zone. I didn't have to do that in Minnesota. Now, I'm starting to have to do that in Minnesota and I don't like it."
In a recent MinnPost poll, Harris secured a substantial majority of the support (73% to Trump's 21%) in Minneapolis and St. Paul. But Holster said he still believes there's more city Republicans excited to vote than the polls reflect. He believes the area could vote Republican "if they had the right candidate." He also believes Donald Trump is that candidate.
"On every economic and practical metric, Trump is hands down the choice," Holster said. "It is because of the kitchen table issues that those who were unable to admit to themselves or their friends previously that they might vote Republican are losing that resistance. They're saying, 'No, I'm just voting Trump.'"
Notably, Holster lives in south Minneapolis' Third Precinct, which shapes much of his priorities in both local and national politics. The Third Precinct is where much of the civil unrest after George Floyd was killed in 2020 culminated.
"During the George Floyd riots an individual came in through our front door one morning and I never felt happier about holding a Stevens-model 12 gauge in my hand at that moment," Holster said. "They reconsidered their decisions. I didn't have to pull the trigger and they left my house immediately."
Earlier this year, before Gov. Tim Walz was tapped as Kamala Harris' running mate, Trump claimed Minnesota could flip red this year. Holster still thinks this is possible. The Minneapolis Republican Party launched only 18 months ago as Holster saw a rise in interest in the Republican Party post 2020. The group was formed after the consolidation of multiple Republican groups in the area. Now, Holster says city Republicans are more unified.
As for how Holster feels about Walz being picked as the Harris running mate, he says, "Tim Walz, why did you let my neighborhood burn for four days?" He says Walz being picked "stings hard" and he's a "little bitter about Tim."
Despite living in an area that has predominantly voted blue, Holster said in his day-to-day life his neighbors don't talk politics. For example, Holster said his next door neighbor is the director of a "large liberal nonprofit organization."
"We get along famously because we don't talk politics," he said. "We know who each other are. We just don't play the game. We don't let that drive how we interact with one another. We don't let that drive how we behave toward one another as neighbors."
In Minneapolis, conservatives often feel that if they show they are conservative or Republican in a forward facing way, they will be attacked for it, Holster said, noting this fear comes from his fellow conservative voters experiencing vandalism, threats and violence. However, this has not been Holster's experience living in south Minneapolis.
"I've had a Trump sign in my front yard for the earliest I can get right and I haven't had a single brick through my window," Holster said. "I haven't had my tires slashed, haven't had the house broken into, haven't had the yard sign stolen. Nothing happened. There have been no threats of violence."
Overall, as a Republican speaking in a generally Democratic-voting area, Holster said he wants people who disagree with him to know: "We're not evil. We're your neighbors. We're Republicans and we're just like you. We have the same concerns. We have the same issues, but we're all in trouble right now at the civic level."
