Dayton leads in new gubernatorial poll

Mark Dayton. MnIndy file photo

A new KSTP/Survey USA poll puts former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton well ahead of his two challengers for the DFL gubernatorial nomination. Dayton polled 13 points ahead of state House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, 39-26 percent. Matt Entenza trails in third with 22 percent.

Dayton also leads in the general election, topping Republican candidate Tom Emmer 38-35 percent. But the survey has Emmer beating either of the other two potential DFL candidates. He is ahead of Kelliher by 2 points, and Entenza by 4 points. The general election results had a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percent, so any of the possible match ups is essentially tied.

Independence Party candidate Tom Horner pulled in 12 percent support in all three general election scenarios. That is a significant drop from the last poll released on the governor’s race, where Horner drew between 17-19 percent. That poll has drawn complaints from the state GOP for connections between Horner and the polling company.