Raleigh, N.C. – Minnesota DFL Governor Mark Dayton holds a +19 job approval rating, with 53% of voters approving of his job performance as Governor and 34% disapproving. His support is fueled by near-unanimous approval among Democrats (85-5) and strong approval among Independents (51-33).
Voters aren’t as approving of the Legislature, disapproving of the job the DFL members are doing by a 31-49 margin, but holding an even worse opinion of Republican members at 23-62. Perhaps as a result, voters say they would support a DFL candidate over a Republican candidate for state legislature by a 48-39 margin.
“Mark Dayton continues to have good approval ratings,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “And he might have an easier time working with the legislature next year because voters are strongly inclined to reverse their ground from 2010 and vote Democratic this time around.”
Voters narrowly support a state Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, 48%-44%. But a strong majority consensus also emerges in favor of legal recognition of gay couples when the question includes whether civil unions should be allowed. 37% of voters say gay couples should be “allowed to legally marry” and 34% say “gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions but not marry” for a total of 71% in favor of some legal recognition of gay couples.
Finally, voters aren’t willing to spend any public money to cover part of the cost of a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings, opposing that idea 33-59. But when given a choice whether to pay for part of the cost or see the Vikings move out of Minnesota, 39% of voters said they would rather see the Vikings leave and 46% said they would pay part of the cost of a new stadium.
PPP surveyed 1,236 Minnesota voters on January 21st and 22nd . The margin of error for the survey is +/-2.8%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor
Mark Dayton’s job performance?
Approve…………….. 53%
Disapprove………… 34%
Not sure ……………. 13%
Q2 Should the Minnesota Constitution be
amended to provide that only a union of one
man and one woman shall be valid or
recognized as a marriage in Minnesota?
Yes………………………………………………………… 48%
No …………………………………………………………. 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%
Q3 Which of the following best describes your
opinion on gay marriage: gay couples should
be allowed to legally marry, or gay couples
should be allowed to form civil unions but not
legally marry, or there should be no legal
recognition of a gay couple’s relationship?
Gay couples should
be allowed to legally
marry…………………..37%
Gay couples should
be allowed to form
civil unions but not
marry…………………..34%
There should be no
legal recognition of
a gay couple’s
relationship ………….27%
Not sure …………….. . 2%
Q4 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
legal or illegal?
Legal …………………. .43%
Illegal ………………… .47%
Not sure …………….. .10%
Q5 Do you approve or disapprove of the job the
DFL members of the legislature are doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 31%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 49%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 20%
Q6 Do you approve or disapprove of the job the
Republican members of the legislature are
doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 23%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 62%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%
Q7 If there was an election for the legislature
today, do you think you would vote for the DFL
or Republican candidate from your district?
DFL…………………… .48%
Republican…………. .39%
Not sure …………….. .14%
Q8 Do you think public money should cover part of
the cost for a new stadium for the Vikings, or
not?
Public money should cover part of the cost …. 33%
It should not ……………………………………………. 59%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%
Q9 If the choice was between the Vikings moving
out of Minnesota and public money covering
part of the cost for a new stadium, which would
you prefer?
Would prefer the Vikings moving out of
Minnesota ……………………………………………….39%
Would prefer having the public pay for part of
the cost of a new stadium ………………………….46%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%
Q10 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 42%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 51%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 6%
Q11 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 11%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 22%
Moderate………………………………………………… 29%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 22%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 16%
Q12 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 51%
Man……………………………………………………….. 49%
Q13 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 ……………………………………………….. 36%
Republican……………………………………………… 33%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 32%
Q14 If you are white, press 1. If other, press 2.
White …………………………………………………….. 92%
Other……………………………………………………… 8%
Q15 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………………………………………………….. 32%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 36%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
