Upset Brief · MN-04 · Paul Wikstrom (R) vs. Betty McCollum (DFL), incumbent

A long shot on the math: it takes a 33.3-point national wave.

0%
odds today
0%
odds with the plan
106,955
net votes to find
38
days left, ballots already coming in
Where
  1. 01
    St. Paul
    Starting line McCollum +59. 3.7% split their ticket.
    +2,134
  2. 02
    Woodbury
    Starting line McCollum +20. 4.8% split their ticket.
    +806
  3. 03
    Maplewood
    Starting line McCollum +26. 5.8% split their ticket.
    +494
  4. 04
    Oakdale
    Starting line McCollum +17. 6.3% split their ticket.
    +393
  5. 05
    Roseville
    Starting line McCollum +44. 3.6% split their ticket.
    +345
  6. 06
    Shoreview
    Starting line McCollum +27. 4.5% split their ticket.
    +345

The top 12 cities and townships carry 81% of the plan.

How
  • P
    Persuade
    6,721 voters who split their ticket in 2024 or 2022 and lean McCollum today.
    +6,721
  • M
    Mobilize
    At least 92 voters who skipped the 2022 midterm in the few places Wikstrom carries.
    +5
  • C
    Consolidate
    Voters who went third party in recent races, in the towns that lean his way.
    +401

Plus a national shift of 33.3 points of margin (99,829 votes) that no campaign controls.

What has to be true
  1. Wikstrom wins half of the ticket splitters leaning McCollum, the ceiling.
  2. Woodbury, Oakdale and Lake Elmo in Washington County are the closest ground in the district.
  3. A national wave of about 33.3 points arrives on top of a flawless campaign.
  4. Anything short of that is still a result worth building: every point gained here is a list of identified voters for the next race.
The numbers behind it
  • 01
    Crossover regression
    211 precincts, R² 0.983, 42 crossover precincts identified
  • 02
    Monte Carlo
    20,000 seeded simulated elections with a 7-point baseline error. 90% range of the final margin with the plan: -134,972 to -65,002 votes.
  • 03
    Money, FEC report through July 22
    Wikstrom $2,205 cash on hand; McCollum $498,697.
  • 04
    Call program for this list
    10,127 households, 30,382 dials, about 1,592 live conversations: an estimated $4,519 at published rates.
For the campaign

Run this list with HyperPhonebank.

Professional live callers on exactly these voters: persuasion, voter ID and ballot chase, with a live dashboard of every conversation. An estimated $4,519 for the full list. Days to launch.

For donors, PACs and committees

Fund the contact, see every call.

A program on this list with a dashboard you can watch daily: conversations, voter IDs and ballots chased, precinct by precinct.

The full plan, the map and the live odds simulator ›All Minnesota races ranked ›

Independent analysis by The Political Group from official Minnesota Secretary of State precinct returns (2022, 2024), FEC filings and published polls, as of September 26, 2026. Not affiliated with any candidate or party.