Poll: Franken gains ground on Coleman

02/20/2008

The Rasmussen poll of likely voters in Minnesota also found that, in presidential matchups, Barack Obama led John McCain, but McCain led Hillary Clinton.


By PATRICIA LOPEZ and BOB VON STERNBERG,
Star Tribune
February 19, 2008


A new poll has found that DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken has gained ground on U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn.

The same poll, by Rasmussen Reports, shows that in a presidential matchup, Barack Obama fares better in Minnesota than fellow Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.

The poll of 500 likely voters, conducted Saturday, shows that Franken, a satirist and entertainer, leads Coleman 49 percent to 46 percent. That's within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

In early November, a Rasmussen poll found Coleman leading Franken by a 49-42 margin and another DFL candidate, lawyer Mike Ciresi, by 46-43.

In the recent poll, Coleman remained slightly ahead of Ciresi, 47 percent to 45 percent.

Unfavorable ratings for all three candidates remained high, with each viewed unfavorably by 42 percent of those polled. But of the three, Coleman had the highest favorable rating, with 55 percent, compared with 50 percent for Franken and 46 percent for Ciresi.

Coleman, who is seeking a second term, is considered one of the most vulnerable senators up for reelection in 2008. Franken and Ciresi are vying for their party's endorsement along with University of St. Thomas Prof. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and others.

Presidential pairings

On the presidential side, in a Minnesota matchup between McCain and Obama, the Democratic Illinois senator leads the GOP Arizona senator 53 percent to 38 percent. If Clinton, a senator from New York, is the Democratic nominee, McCain has a slight lead, 47 percent to 42 percent, a gap within the poll's margin of error.

The same dynamic, of Obama outperforming Clinton in general election matchups, has prevailed in most other states, according to Rasmussen's analysis of survey data.

In another area examined by the poll -- the most important issue to Minnesotans -- the economy was No. 1, ranked there by 38 percent of respondents. The Iraq war, which had been a top-ranking issue in the last election cycle, was cited by 23 percent as their No. 1 issue.

Among voters who rank the economy as most important, McCain trails Obama by a wide margin, while he is slightly ahead of Clinton. Among those who rank the war most important, McCain trails both Democrats.