The voters of Minnesota may be a fickle lot, but you have to believe they completely reverse their views every two years to explain their Senators. GOP Sen. Rod Grams is as conservative as any Republican Senator, while Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone is probably the most liberal. If state voters agree with Grassley on most important issues, they can't possibly also agree with Harkin in the same issues. Obviously, something else is affecting the voters' decisions. Voters sent Ronald Reagan to the White House but often disagreed with him on specific issues.
Issues surely motivate some voters.
But those voters are also the most ideological, and the most partisan. The truth of the matter is that elections are often determined by swing voters, and many of them base their votes only partially on the candidates' issue positions. Voters see the governor as a stronger leader than the Vice President, and they therefore are comfortable with his ability to handle the economy, foreign policy and a number of other issues. Gore is actually facing the same problem that the Republicans faced in 1992. Now, it is the Democrats who complain that the Republicans are trying to blur the lines between the parties.