Final Minnesota Poll: Hatch, Klobuchar Lead

Attorney General Mike Hatch holds slim lead over Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar has a nearly insurmountable lead over Rep. Mark Kennedy, according to the final Minnesota Poll.Hatch, a DFLer, leads Republican incumbent Pawlenty 44% to 41% in the poll, with other candidates receiving 8% of the vote.  7% are undecided.  This represents a slight uptick for Hatch, who led by 2% in the previous day’s tracking poll.  The lead is well within the poll’s 3.7% margin of error.

Klobuchar, vying to replace fellow Democrat Mark Dayton, appears headed for an easy victory.  Klobuchar has increased her lead over Republican Kennedy to 21%, 55% to 34%.  This is a slight increase over her 20% lead in the previous day’s poll.  Klobuchar has held a wide lead in nearly every poll since August, and appears poised to become the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Minnesota.  (Sen. Muriel Humphrey was appointed to fill the seat of her late husband Hubert in 1978.)

The poll was conducted November 5 and 6, and surveyed 747 likely voters.