Dayton leads primary polls, but Kelliher receives key endorsement

The Star Tribune polled voters in advance of next Tuesday’s primary election, and the numbers portend good results for the Democrats. Former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton leads the DFL primary in the poll, besting state House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, 40-30 percent. Matt Entenza trails far behind the two leading contenders with 17 percent.

Dayton’s 10-point advantage appears intimidating at first glance, but it is still within the margin of error for the poll, which was +/- 7.8 percent for the primary portion of the survey. And this weekend’s Strib did contain some good news for Kelliher. The paper endorsed her for the DFL primary in a Saturday editorial. The paper focused on the budget crisis facing the state’s next governor, and wrote that “Kelliher exhibits more ability to unify than do her chief rivals.” The editorial praised Kelliher’s outline for her budget plan, and disparaged Dayton’s over reliance on taxing the rich.

Both Dayton and Kelliher would hold wide leads entering the general election against presumed Republican candidate Tom Emmer. Dayton out-polled Emmer 40-30 percent, and a Kelliher-Emmer match up also gives the DFL the edge, 38-29 percent. Even Entenza leads Emmer in the poll, though by the narrower margin of 36-31 percent.

Though he does not face a competitive primary, Emmer’s campaign has been in damage control mode for much of the last few weeks dealing with his proposal to slash the minimum wage for restaurant servers (which he has since walked back), his DWI record and LGBT groups protesting Target Corp.’s contributions for pro-Emmer ads. Emmer will also start the general election at a financial disadvantage, holding less money than Kelliher and lacking the personal wealth of millionaires Dayton and Entenza.