Senate race a dead heat
November 5th, 2007 – 1:18 PM by Dennis J. McGrathA new poll shows Sen. Norm Coleman in a dead heat with Al Franken and Mike Ciresi, the two leading Democratic candidates.
Here’s the poll, taken by SurveyUSA for Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper.
The poll has Coleman at 46 percent when matched against Franken, who has 45 percent. Against Ciresi, Coleman gets 44 percent and Ciresi gets 44 percent.
Other hightlights:
The favorable ratings for all three candidates are low. Coleman’s favorable and unfavorable ratings are about even; Franken’s unfavorables are much higher than his favorables; and Ciresi is still struggling to make himself known.
The gender gap is significant. Coleman runs 11 points better among men than among women vs. Franken. And Coleman runs 15 points better among men than women vs. Ciresi.
Here’s a look back at the Star Tribune’s Minnesota Poll taken in September, which included Coleman job approval and candidate image questions, but no horse-race questions.
6 Responses to "Senate race a dead heat"
These poll results must be pretty scary for Coleman–but you can’t take them too seriously unless you know the answer to another question:
In these hypothetical matchups, which face is Coleman using? Do the different matchup results come out differently, if he uses his other face against the two challengers? We know he has the potential to use *both* of his faces on *each* of the challengers, but I don’t see that scenario reflected in this poll data either.
Dead heat?? There’s a whole year to go!!! Come back on election night and we’ll talk about who’s in a dead heat.
The average person isn’t spending any time thinking about this race yet. They’re too busy deflecting thousands of Presidential debates that also don’t matter yet.
It IS way too early. The polls reflect very few knowledgable opinions, and as of yet - few successfully spun ones.
But “can’t take it seriously”? I’ll go Mr. Plundergut one better — I’m busting a gut laughing. It has to be humiliating for Coleman. His opponent is a professional comedian.
Attorney Mike Ciresi was born, grew up, and was schooled in Minnesota. He represented the State of Minnesota in the legal/courtroom fight against the Tobacco Industry, and won.
The State DFL will more than likely “endorse” a U.S. senatorial candidate during the early summer of 2007.
Each political camp is capable of reading and interpreting the polls.
I would speculate that “humiliating” would not be foremost in the Coleman camp thoughts.
How can this be either scary or humiliating for Coleman in a state which has MANY more registered Democrats than Republicans? Who should really be concerned?
*…in a state which has MANY more registered Democrats than Republicans…* - Larry
And so your theory as to why Coleman gets elected is… what?
He has cross-party popularity. He’s been involved in MN politics for many years, and he enjoys hyoooj name recognition. Whatever you think of his record, the simple fact is he has one.
As a politician, Franken is still an unknown to most Minnesotans. He’s that comedian guy who’s been making silly political jokes for a few years now.
As the incumbent Senator, Coleman has every advantage. But in his self-promotional zeal, he hitched his wagon to a very dull star.