
Mark Dayton
Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton comes closest to out-polling Gov. Tim Pawlenty in a theoretical match-up in the 2010 governor’s contest, according to a new SurveyUSA poll commissioned by KSTP (Channel 5). The two-term Republican incumbent defeats Dayton by a 47-43 margin.
The KSTP phone survey of 551 registered voters also looked at potential match-ups with eight other DFL contenders. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak had the next strongest showing, losing by a 47-42 percent margin. His counterpart in St. Paul, Chris Coleman, was next, trailing Pawlenty by 11 percentage points.
Bringing up the rear were Rep. Paul Thissen (51-32) and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (51-34). The other names polled: former state Rep. Matt Entenza (51-37), Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner (50-36), and state Sens. Tom Bakk (50-34) and John Marty (51-34).
Of course at this point, 18 months out from election day, only political junkies are thinking about the 2010 contest. The KSTP poll is likely a better gauge of name recognition than a meaningful snapshot of where the electorate stands.












8 Comments »
Comment posted May 21, 2009 @ 1:00 pm
Not to mention SurveyUSA slants more to the right than any other pollster.
KSTPHubbard Broadcast is also about as “fair and balanced” as Fox News.Comment posted May 21, 2009 @ 1:10 pm
There is a governor poll at the blogger site http://www.mndem.com that would probably be as accurate as Survey USA.
Comment posted May 21, 2009 @ 2:01 pm
The Strib’s write up was interesting. In the first paragraph, they state that the KSTP poll shows that Pawlenty would “handily” dispatch all of the potential DFL candidates. At the very end of the article, it reveals that the MOE of the poll is +/- 4.3%.
I’m not sure in what reality, Dayton being within the MOE, and RT being less than 1 point out of the MOE qualifies as being “handily” beat.
Comment posted May 21, 2009 @ 4:26 pm
Stop this. It’s too early obviously. And, again, Dayton is the only one most Minnesotans know. What a surprise he’s closest. Howsabout covering the issues?
Comment posted May 21, 2009 @ 6:50 pm
Gee, Dayton, really?…. Do you guys enjoy losing year after year? This is why I vote Independent year after year. Get out of the way if you don’t want to win, so the Independents can win some.
Comment posted May 21, 2009 @ 9:11 pm
I think the big thing missing from this poll is comparing how Dayton, Entenza and Rybak would do against Laura Brod, Marty Seifert or Brian Sullivan. I doubt Pawlenty would run again. I would guess there would be some shifts. That said, it is way to early.
Comment posted May 22, 2009 @ 8:28 am
The headline should read, no state Democrat can beat Mr. Pawlenty if an election were held today.
Mr. Pawlenty won’t win the governor job again imho. The accumulated record during his term – constant state fiscal crisis, cut-taxes as the solution for all that ails us, public services are not important …. these are the core of Mr. Pawlenty’s record, and it is not one to boast about. Yet is it what he seems to want to take into his presidential campaign.
He’s doing a Hoover in Minnesota – using unallotment to ensure that even fewer Minnesotans earn income to help sustain our economy by providing needed services to others who need those services in ever greater number. That’s the exactly wrong approach to trying to recover from recession. Once this policy has played out, so will Mr. Pawlenty’s attractiveness to all but a few truly hard-core antigovernment conservatives.
Pingback posted May 24, 2009 @ 11:02 pm
[...] KSTP poll: Dayton fares best against Pawlenty Minnesota Independent: News. Politics. Media. – PeopleRank: 15 – May 21, 2009 …Margaret Anderson Kelliher (51-34). The other names polled: former state Rep. Matt Entenza (51-37), Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner (50-36), and state Sens. Tom Bakk (50-34) and John Marty (51-34). Of course at this point, 18 months out from election… Cited people : Chris Coleman Mark Dayton Paul Thissen Tim Pawlenty + vote [...]
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