First it was Iowa, now it’s…Minnesota?
A poll released Thursday night by the Gopher State’s largest newspaper shows President Joe Biden’s overall job approval in Minnesota below 50 percent for the first time. And once you go outside the very liberal Twin Cities area, barely one-third of respondents support the president. Last November, Biden received 52.4 percent of the vote across the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
The poll of roughly 800 registered voters was conducted from September 13 to September 15.
The poll also shows Minnesota voters are intensely divided over Joe Biden's job performance less than a year into the Democrat's presidency. https://t.co/uLrB32fZuS
— Star Tribune (@StarTribune) September 24, 2021
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz also fell into negative territory for the first time during his 33 months in office. And like Biden, Walz is unpopular outside of the wealthier urban and suburban counties. A year ago, the Minnesota governor posted a 57 percent approval. His approval was in the 60s prior to the summer of riots in Minneapolis.
Related: Pew! Pew! Pew! Biden’s Approval Ratings Are Shot in Yet Another Poll
Biden’s collapse cuts across most demographics. While nearly two-thirds of Minnesota women still approve of his performance, only 28 percent of men do. Perhaps most importantly, just one-third of independents in Minnesota are happy with the president.
Biden and Walz found more support among younger voters and female voters. Both men received 62 percent support from among those under 35, but for voters over age 50, Biden is below 40 percent and Walz comes in below 45. Biden and Walz gain the support of fewer than two in five non-college graduates.
The poll focused on performance, not issues, and therefore did not ask specific questions on COVID-19, the southern border crisis, or the horrendous Afghanistan withdrawal.
“Still, this adds to the growing body of polling data showing a confidence crisis in Biden’s presidency, and one that goes far beyond the normal boundaries of party politics,” Ed Morrissey wrote Friday at HotAir. “It seems to be infecting down-ballot candidates already, and the longer that Biden goes without recovering, the more it risks a rout in next year’s midterms for Democrats. Those suburban numbers alone suggest a red wave in House districts next year if the midterms follow the usual pattern of being a referendum on the incumbent president. When even Minnesota can’t provide electoral safety for Democrats, their situation is indeed dire.”
Minnesota has not voted Republican in a presidential election since 1972 — the longest streak in America — and no member of the GOP has been elected statewide in more a decade. This is a trend the half-dozen Republicans who are running against Walz next year hope to change.
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