MN poll: It's Kerry over Bush by 12 points

The latest StarTribune Minnesota Poll shows MN to be quite blue.  Clarke's testimony seems to be taking hold and Nader's support is minimal.  Of course it's just a poll, and it's seven months before the election, but I never thought MN was the battleground state it was made out to be.  In 2000 Gore won by 3% with Nader taking 5%.  I just couldn't see an 8% swing towards Bush.  

It's Kerry over Bush by 12 points

Rob Hotakainen,
Star Tribune Washington Bureau Correspondent
April  4, 2004

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Seven months before the election, Democratic Sen. John Kerry has a 12-point lead over Republican President Bush in Minnesota, according to the latest Star Tribune Minnesota Poll.

The poll, conducted last week, showed Kerry leading Bush, 50 percent to 38 percent. Independent candidate Ralph Nader had backing from 2 percent of the state's likely voters.

The poll carried plenty of potentially troubling news for the president. A majority of voters -- 52 percent -- say the country is pretty seriously off on the wrong track, and one of Bush's biggest problems is that voters perceive him to have a lack of compassion.

Far more chose Kerry over Bush as being in tune with  Minnesotans on the issues.

They also said Kerry is more likely to side with the average citizen. And while 49 percent view the president favorably, 46 percent have an unfavorable impression of him, a high negative rating for an incumbent.