survey usa

Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s job-approval rating is on such a steep decline — dropping 10 percentage points in three months — that it’s on track to dip even lower than the pluralities by which he was elected.

Another day brings another post-recount poll of Minnesotans about the U.S. Senate contenders, the recount process itself and what should happen next. According to a Daily Kos-Research 2000 survey, 47 percent of voters support seating Al Franken in the Senate (at least provisionally) and oppose former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman’s legal challenge to the recount. Though conducted only a day or two after a similar poll by Survey USA for KSTP-TV, the Daily Kos results show some intriguing differences.

Now these are some poll results Norm Coleman should sue over. KSTP-TV and other media outlets are reporting that a new Survey USA-KSTP poll shows almost half of Minnesotans want the former senator to concede the state’s ongoing Senate contest to challenger Al Franken. But that’s not quite what the survey results say. When asked directly what they thought should happen next, only 44 percent of respondents said Coleman should concede. And that’s better (for Coleman) than the 55 percent who one month ago objected to the loser challenging the results in court.

More number-crunching and KSTP’s video report after the jump.

One scenario in the Minnesota Senate recount has the U.S. Senate ordering a new election to help them decide whether to seat Democrat Al Franken or Republican incumbent Norm Coleman. Another scenario leaves the decision to voters in a new election to be held late next year after the vacancy is temporarily filled by an appointee of Gov. Tim Pawlenty. But a re-run of the Nov. 4 election wouldn’t be any more conclusive than the original was, according to a new poll that Survey USA conducted for KSTP-TV.

In e-mails to the Minnesota Independent this afternoon, KSTP-TV’s Tom Hauser responds to reports that the station gave Republican state Rep. Erik Paulsen’s campaign an early heads-up yesterday about the results of the latest 3rd Congressional District poll that Survey USA conducted for KSTP. Hauser also confirms that the latest poll was a re-do of one just two days earlier that left out the name of David Dillon, Independence Party candidate.

In what pollsters are calling a “do-si-do,” results of the latest survey in the high-profile race for Minnesota’s 3rd district congressional seat show DFLer Ashwin Madia holding a slight 46-43 percent lead over Republican state Rep. Erik Paulsen — a three-point spread that’s within the poll’s 4-percent margin of error. SurveyUSA conducted the poll of 634 likely voters for KSTP on Oct. 6–7.