Polls

Klobuchar cruising, Franken too

| Dustin Ingalls

Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C. –  
Amy Klobuchar’s job approval ratings are not quite as lofty as when PPP last polled Minnesota in January, but still almost twice as many of her constituents like their freshman senator as dislike the work she is doing.  Because of that, she leads her four unknown potential Republican opponents by almost identical margins.

57% approve and 29% disapprove of Klobuchar’s job performance, down a tick from 61-28 four months ago.  83% of Democrats, 61% of independents, and even 25% of Republicans think she is doing a good job.

At the same time, only 15-27% of the state’s voters claim to have an opinion on any of the GOP field, with Doc Severson the best-known and most popular.  17% see him favorably and 10% unfavorably.  But his relative notoriety means little, for Klobuchar still leads him by 28 points (55-27), the same deficit as has Pete Hegseth (56-28), and larger than those faced by Joe Arwood (56-29) or Kurt Bills (55-29).

Klobuchar leads by margins of 35 to 39 points with independents and takes 14-15% of the Republican vote along with 89-90% of her own party.

“Barring an unforeseen scandal, this race is over,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling.

Klobuchar’s junior colleague by two years, Al Franken, is also in good shape two years out from his first re-election bid.  He has a 50-36 approval spread.  In a rematch of the closely contested 2008 election in which he ousted first-term senator Norm Coleman, Franken would pad his lead to 10 points (51-41).  Similarly, he would lead Tim Pawlenty by 11 points (52-41).  But if he were to face Michele Bachmann, he would rout her by twice that margin, 57-35.

The Minnesota Twins are having a second terrible season in a row, but the team’s faithful—65% of the state—are strongly against firing manager Ron Gardenhire.  Only 8% find that a good idea, while 58% oppose it.

PPP surveyed 973 Minnesota voters from May 31st  to June 3rd. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.1%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Amy
Klobuchar’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .57%
Disapprove…………. .29%
Not sure …………….. .14%

Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Joe Arwood?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 3%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 13%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 84%

Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Kurt Bills?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 6%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 14%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 80%

Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Pete Hegseth?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 4%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 11%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 85%

Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Doc Severson?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 17%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 10%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 73%

Q6 If the candidates for US Senate this fall were
Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Republican Joe
Arwood, who would you vote for?
Amy Klobuchar ……………………………………….. 56%
Joe Arwood…………………………………………….. 29%
Undecided………………………………………………. 15%

Q7 If the candidates for US Senate this fall were
Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Republican Kurt
Bills, who would you vote for?
Amy Klobuchar ……………………………………….. 55%
Kurt Bills…………………………………………………. 29%
Undecided………………………………………………. 16%

Q8 If the candidates for US Senate this fall were
Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Republican Pete
Hegseth, who would you vote for?
Amy Klobuchar ……………………………………….. 56%
Pete Hegseth………………………………………….. 28%
Undecided………………………………………………. 16%

Q9 If the candidates for US Senate this fall were
Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Republican Doc
Severson, who would you vote for?
Amy Klobuchar ……………………………………….. 55%
Doc Severson …………………………………………. 27%
Undecided………………………………………………. 19%

Q10 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Al
Franken’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .50%
Disapprove…………. .36%
Not sure …………….. .14%

Q11 If the candidates for US Senate next time were
Democrat Al Franken and Republican Michele
Bachmann, who would you vote for?
Al Franken …………. .57%
Michele Bachmann .35%
Not sure …………….. . 8%

Q12 If the candidates for US Senate next time were
Democrat Al Franken and Republican Tim
Pawlenty, who would you vote for?
Al Franken …………. .52%
Tim Pawlenty ……… .41%
Not sure …………….. . 7%

Q13 If the candidates for US Senate next time were
Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm
Coleman, who would you vote for?
Al Franken …………. .51%
Norm Coleman……. .41%
Not sure …………….. . 8%

Q14 Do you consider yourself to be a Minnesota
Twins fan, or not?
Consider yourself a
Twins fan……………..65%
Do not ……………….. .26%
Not sure …………….. . 9%

Q15 (Asked only of Twins fans:) Would you support
or oppose firing Ron Gardenhire?
Support ………………………………………………….. 8%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 58%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 34%

Q16 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the city of Minneapolis?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 59%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 20%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 21%

Q17 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the city of St. Paul?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 66%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 12%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%

Q18 Which city do you like better: Minneapolis or St.
Paul?
Minneapolis…………………………………………….. 40%
St. Paul ………………………………………………….. 26%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 33%

Q19 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the city of Rochester?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 60%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 4%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 36%

Q20 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the city of Duluth?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 75%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 5%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 21%

Q21 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 41%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 50%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 8%

Q22 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 11%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 20%
Moderate………………………………………………… 32%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 20%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 16%

Q23 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 50%
Man……………………………………………………….. 50%

Q24 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 35%
Republican……………………………………………… 31%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 34%

Q25 If you are white, press 1. If other, press 2.
White …………………………………………………….. 90%
Other……………………………………………………… 10%

Q26 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 12%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 30%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 38%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%

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