The latest Minnesota Polls show a tight six-point spread in both the governor’s contest and the race for the U-S Senate seat formerly held by Al Franken, and Carleton College analyst Steven Schier says “it may be that these races are tighter” because both polls under-sampled voters in Greater Minnesota.
In the U-S Senate race, Democrat Tina Smith leads Republican Karin Housley 47-to-41 percent. Ten percent are undecided, although a third of those didn’t recognize Housley’s name. But Schier says Smith made an error by not participating in a prime-time televised debate. “That essentially raises questions about, why is she avoiding the debate? And it gives a platform to Karin Housley and allows her to go on offense in the campaign,” he says.
In the governor’s contest, Democrat Tim Walz has 45 percent to Republican Jeff Johnson’s 39 percent — but while Johnson’s number is up three points from September, Walz’s support was unchanged.
The election is two weeks from tomorrow (Tues 11/6).