Poll: Pawlenty approval rating at new high

08/15/2007

By BOB VON STERNBERG,
Star Tribune
August 15, 2007


In the wake of the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s approval rating has climbed to its highest level recorded during his tenure in office, a new poll shows.

The poll, conducted by SurveyUSA over the last weekend, found that 59 percent of Minnesotans approve of the job Pawlenty is doing at a time when the aftermath of the collapse has thrust him into the national spotlight. By comparison, 37 percent of Minnesotans disapprove of his job performance and 4 percent have no opinion. The poll has a margin of sampling error of 4 percentage point.

Those results amount to what the poll’s analysts call a “Plus 22” rating for Pawlenty; as recently as last month, his rating was “Plus 11,” with 53 percent of Minnesotans approving of his performance and 42 percent disapproving. In October 2006, a month before he was narrowly re-elected, his job approval rating stood at “Minus 7” percentage points.

Pawlenty’s job approval rating is high among nearly all demographic groups, but the poll analysts point out that despite what they call “coming together among all Minnesotans,” a partisan divide persists, with 90 percent of Republicans approving of Pawlenty’s job performance, compared to 54 percent of independents and only 39 percent of Democrats approving.

By comparison, President Bush’s job approval rating remains dismal in Minnesota, as it has been in several recent national polls. SurveyUSA found that 31 percent of Minnesotans approve of the job Bush is doing, while 66 percent do not. Only 3 percent have no opinion.