ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Minnesotans’ deep disagreements about the condition of the state and nation are entrenched along party lines, according to a new St. Cloud State University survey, but the satisfaction is significantly down overall from recent years. Could a contentious election affect a peaceful transition of power Click to expand UP […]
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Minnesotans’ deep disagreements about the condition of the state and nation are entrenched along party lines, according to a new St. Cloud State University survey, but the satisfaction is significantly down overall from recent years.
Could a contentious election affect a peaceful transition of power
Asked who they would vote for if the presidential election were held today, SCSU’s poll has former Vice President Joe Biden leading in Minnesota with 54% of the vote. President Donald Trump polled at 39%.
The survey authors noted that Biden’s lead is outside the margin of error but cautioned that the poll underestimated Trump’s 2016 performance in Minnesota by about 10%.
“While we expect that the estimate for Biden is likely to be very accurate, we have less confidence in the figure for Trump based on past experience and we recommend caution,” the authors wrote.
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., has a significant lead against Republican challenger Jason Lewis, with the race at 53% for Smith to Lewis’s 36%.
St. Cloud State University Survey’s Annual Fall Statewide Survey findings are based on landline and cell phone interviews of a representative sample of 372 Minnesota adults from Oct. 10-29. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 6.7%.
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Top issues: Pandemic, civic divisions
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Poll respondents said the COVID-19 pandemic, political division and current national leadership are the top issues facing the electorate.
Trump’s response to COVID-19 was disliked by 60% of Minnesotans surveyed overall, but of those with a stated political affiliation, 83% of Republicans and 5% of Democrats approved of the president’s pandemic response. Meanwhile, 69% of all respondents said they support the state’s indoor mask mandate in public spaces (33% of Republicans and 97% of Democrats).
The president’s reponse to protests after the death of George Floyd gained approval from 73% of Republicans and 3% of Democrats.
Two-thirds of those surveyed believe Minnesota is capable of running a fair and accurate election.
The questions for the SCSU survey were developed by faculty directors of St. Cloud State’s Survey Center.
Are Minnesota and the nation on the right track?
The answer largely depends on party affiliation, but satisfaction is showing clear declines from recent years.
While 70% of Minnesotans surveyed in 2017 said the state was headed in the right direction, just 46% said they believed that last month. The SCSU survey found 48% of Minnesotans said the state is on the wrong track, a jump of more than 20 percentage points from 26% in 2018.
On the national situation, 28% of SCSU poll participants said the country is heading in the right direction; 66% said the United States is on the wrong track.
Satisfaction levels break down strongly along party lines: 71% of Democrats surveyed said they believe Minnesota is headed in the right direction. Only 17% of Republicans agreed.
On the national question, 93% of Democrats surveyed said they believe the nation is on the wrong track, 34% of Republicans shared that view.
Regardless of political affilliation, 28% of Minnesotans surveyed said they believe the nation is headed in the right direction.
Women gathered for Stroll to the Polls event, dancing on the streets towards a polling booth in downtown Patagonia on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, is a town in Santa Cruz County, Ariz. 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment for women’s constitutional right to vote.
Lines stretched for several blocks as New Yorkers lined up to vote at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan during the third day of early voting Oct. 27, 2020.
Lane County Elections workers David Campbell, left, and Matt Eva remove ballots from the dropbox at the election offices on Charnelton Street on Oct. 26, 2020, in Eugene, Oregon. More than 40 percent of ballots have been returned by voters in Lane County.
Lane County Elections worker Elaine Erwin prepares ballot envelopes before they are scanned for signatures on Oct. 26, 2020, in Eugene, Oregon. More than 40 percent of ballots have been returned by voters in Lane County.
The Friends of Mt. Hope have placed plastic covers over Susan B. Anthony’s headstone in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY as well as her sister’s Mary Anthony’s headstone. “I Voted Today” stickers on their headstones, Oct. 26, 2020 have been placed on them since early voting started Saturday. The covers are to protect the old headstones.
A voter walks toward election officials who are wearing face shields, mask and gloves at a Vote Center located at the Staples Center on the first weekend of early in-person voting on October 25, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Voters in Los Angeles County are now able to vote in person at any Vote Center located within the county.
A worker sanitizes a hand rail at a Vote Center located at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on the first weekend of early in-person voting on October 25, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Voters in Los Angeles County are now able to vote in person at any Vote Center located within the county.
People walk out of a Vote Center located at Compton College on the first weekend of early in-person voting on October 25, 2020, in Compton, California. Voters in Los Angeles County are now able to vote in person at any Vote Center located within the county.
President Donald Trump walks with Wendy Sartory Link, Supervisor of Elections Palm Beach County, after casting his ballot for the presidential election, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Fla.
In an aerial view from a drone, residents wait in line for the opening of an early voting location at the Mid-Island Y Jewish Community Center on October 24, 2020 in Plainview, New York.
People walk past chalk messages on the sidewalk outside Madison Square Garden on the first day of early voting, in New York City on October 24, 2020.
Voters cast their ballot on the first day of early voting, at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on October 24, 2020.
An election worker moves returned ballots from a sorting machine behind at the King County Elections office Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, in Renton, Wash. Election officials there said that 280,000 county ballots had already been returned, nearly 20% of the total sent to voters. Washington state is one of five states, along with Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, and Utah, that conduct elections entirely by mail-in voting.
A woman casts her ballot at Tippecanoe Library on the first day of in-person early voting for the November 3rd elections in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 20, 2020.
People wait in line to vote outside of an early voting site, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, in Miami Beach, Fla. Florida begins in-person early voting in much of the state Monday. With its 29 electoral votes, Florida is crucial to both candidates in order to win the White House.
Emily Seibert inserts her ballot into an official ballot drop box Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, in Salt Lake City.
Poll workers receive Vote-by-Mail ballots in a drive thru system setup at the Election Headquarters polling station on Oct.19, 2020 in Doral, Florida. The poll workers placed the ballots into an official ballot drop box after receiving them. The early voting ends on Nov. 1. Voters are casting their ballots for presidential candidates President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Cook County jail detainees check in before casting their votes after a polling place was opened in the facility for early voting on Oct. 17, 2020 in Chicago, Ill. It is the first time pretrial detainees in the jail will get the opportunity for early voting in a general election.
Early voters form a line along South Alston Ave. to cast their ballots at the South Regional Library polling location in Durham, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., fills out his ballot in the 2020 general election at the Kentucky Exhibition Center in Louisville, Ky., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020.
Voters cast their vote at the Downtown West early voting location in Knoxville, Tenn., on the first day of early voting in Tennessee on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.
Voters wait in line to vote at the Downtown West early voting location in Knoxville, Tenn., on the first day of early voting in Tennessee on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.
A Miami-Dade election worker feeds ballots into a voting machines during an accuracy test at the Miami-Dade Election Department headquarters on Oct. 14, 2020 in Doral, Florida. The test was done as the county prepares for the November 3rd election where President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden are facing off against each other.
Harris County election worker Romanique Tillman prepares mail-in ballots to be sent out to voters Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, in Houston.
People wait in line to fill out a ballot at the Southeast Library on Hickory Hollow Parkway on the first day of early voting on Wednesday, October 14, 2020, in Antioch, Tenn. Other states have reported big turnouts in early voting for the November presidential race.
People vote at the Southeast Library on Hickory Hollow Parkway on the first day of early voting on Wednesday, October 14, 2020, in Antioch, Tenn.
Several hundred voters line up before the polls open at the Williamson County Administrative Complex during the first day of early voting Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020 in Franklin, Tenn.
Ted Sevilla helps putting a ballot in a dropbox on Oct. 13, 2020 in Phoenix. A steady stream of cars dropped off ballots.
People wait in line to vote in Decatur, Ga., Monday, Oct. 12, 2020.
Judi Katz wears a mask with A message as she waits in line to vote early at the Loop Super Site in downtown Chicago, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020.
Workers at the Miami-Dade County Election Department move racks of vote-by-mail ballots onto a U.S. Post Office truck to be delivered to voters on Oct. 1, 2020 in Doral, Fla. The Miami-Dade County Elections Department mailed out more than 530,000 vote-by-mail ballots to voters with a request on file for the November 3, 2020 General Election.
Workers at the Miami-Dade County Election Department move racks of vote-by-mail ballots onto a U.S. Post Office truck to be delivered to voters on Oct. 1, 2020 in Doral, Fla.
A Miami-Dade County Elections Department employee loads a cart of vote-by-mail ballots into a truck for transport to a local U.S. Postal Service office, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Doral, Fla. The department mailed out more than 530,000 vote-by-mail ballots Thursday to voters that requested them for the Nov. 3 general election.
A sample of a vote-by-mail ballot is shown at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Doral, Fla.
Miami-Dade County Elections Department employees organize voting equipment, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Doral, Fla.
Voting center Sept. 29, 2020, in Philadelphia.
Susan Avery of Brattleboro, Vt., fills out the ballot she received in the mail on Sept. 28.
Election worker Nancy Wilcox looks through mail-in ballot requests Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, at the Johnson County election office in Olathe, Kan. The office has processed more than 100,000 mail-in ballot requests so far as more people than normal are expected to vote by mail due to concerns about the new coronavirus.
Election workers open and sort mail-in ballot requests Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, at the Johnson County election office in Olathe, Kan. The office has processed more than 100,000 mail-in ballot requests so far as more people than normal are expected to vote by mail due to concerns about the coronavirus.
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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Biden leads Trump by 15 points in Minnesota, St. Cloud State University poll finds
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