Minnesota
Will GOP Controversy Put 16th Senate District In Play for the DFL?
Minnesota blogs have been buzzing in recent days in light of state Representative Mark Olson’s endorsement by the Republican Party for the special election in Senate District 16 held this November. The election is being held to fill Betsy Wergin’s…
Read MoreWill Minnesotans Turn Out On Primary Day?
Minnesotans have earned a deserved reputation for turning out the vote on Election Day in recent years. During presidential election years, Minnesota has yielded a turnout rate of between 65 and 83 percent since 1952, including increasing totals of…
Read MorePawlenty Disapproval Numbers Increasing Amid VP Talk
Although Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty is not beloved by all in the Gopher State, he has maintained a consistent level of job approval throughout his gubernatorial tenure. In nearly 60 public opinion polls of Minnesotans conducted since early…
Read MoreThe Decline of a President: Tracing Bush’s Approval Ratings in the Upper Midwest
Despite rising national unemployment rates, high gas prices, and overall economic uncertainty, George W. Bush remains basically no less popular among Upper Midwesterners in 2008 than he was in 2007. A Smart Politics study of nearly 180 public opinion polls…
Read MoreWhat Is the Democratic Ceiling Across Upper Midwestern State Legislatures?
The 2006 election saw Democratic takeovers of 3 of the 6 Upper Midwestern legislative chambers previously controlled by the Republicans. Democrats now control 5 chambers (the Iowa House and Senate, the Minnesota House and Senate, and the Wisconsin Senate) with…
Read MoreWill the GOP Make Gains in the Minnesota House?
When the DFL swept its way into control of the Minnesota House in the 2006 election, some Republican officeholders and officials partially attributed the DFL 19-seat net gain to having all the cards fall just right for the DFL –…
Read MoreMinnesota Home to Increasing Number of Self-Identified Democrats
A Smart Politics study of the partisan leanings of Minnesota residents finds that the percentage of self-identified Democrats has increased nearly 30 percent since 2005. While the percentage of self-identified Republicans has dropped, it seems the Democratic Party is increasing…
Read MoreWill Obama Perform Stronger in Wisconsin Than in Minnesota? Don’t Count On It
A new poll by Quinnipiac University of more than 1,000 likely voters in both Minnesota and Wisconsin was released Thursday with a surprising headline: Barack Obama led John McCain by just 2 points in the Gopher State (46 to 44…
Read MoreHow Blue Is Minnesota? Not 7 U.S. House Seats Blue
Tim Walz’s pick-up of the Gopher State’s 1st Congressional District in 2006 buoyed hopes for the DFL of a decisive bluish trend among voters for its U.S. House candidates in the coming years. Walz’s victory surprised many pundits, even in…
Read MoreSmart Politics Study: Independence Party Need Make No Apologies to the DFL
The DFL has pointed to the Independence Party gubernatorial candidacies of Peter Hutchinson (2006) and Tim Penny (2002) as part of the reason for Republican Tim Pawlenty’s two plurality wins in the Gopher State. The fear, among the DFL,…
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