The Star Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio News polled 800 Minnesota likely voters between Oct. 15 and Oct. 17. Highlights from questions about the U.S. Senate races are below. Scroll down the page to see details about how the poll was conducted and the demographics of the 800 respondents. "Other" candidates in Smith/Housley race are Sarah Wellington (Legal Marijuana Now) and Jerry Trooien (unaffiliated) at 1 percent each. "Other" candidates in the Klobuchar/Newberger race are Dennis Schuller (Legal Marijuana Now) and Paula Overby (Green Party) at 2 percent each.
If the 2018 special election for U.S. senator were held today, would you vote for...?
Tina Smith
(DFL) Karin Housley
(Republican) Other Undecided 47% 41% 2% 10% Smith Housley Other Undecided Men 41% 48% 2% 9% Women 53 34 3 10 Democrats 95 1 0 4 Republicans 4 86 2 8 Independents / other 33 42 6 19 18-34 58 35 1 6 35-49 49 40 2 9 50-64 43 45 2 10 64+ 43 41 4 12 Under $50,000 55 31 3 11 $50,000 and over 44 46 2 8 Hennepin / Ramsey 63 28 1 8 Metro Suburbs 40 49 2 9 Southern Minn. 43 43 4 8 Northern Minn. 37 47 4 12 Tina Smith
(DFL) Karin Housley
(Republican) Other Undecided 44% 37% 4% 15% Smith Housley Other Undecided Men 39% 43% 3% 15% Women 49 32 4 15 Democrats 91 0 0 9 Republicans 0 87 1 12 Independents / other 32 33 9 26 18-34 64 16 3 17 35-49 41 38 6 15 50-64 39 45 3 13 64+ 39 43 2 16 Under $50,000 44 38 3 15 $50,000 and over 42 41 3 14 Hennepin / Ramsey 55 30 3 12 Metro Suburbs 37 42 4 17 Southern Minn. 41 35 4 20 Northern Minn. 39 43 4 14 Do you recognize the name ______? (IF YES) Do you have a favorable, unfavorable or neutral opinion of ______?
Tina Smith Karin Housley Recognize Favorable 34% 27% Recognize Unfavorable 26 14 Recognize Neutral 23 24 Don't Recognize 17 35 Tina Smith Karin Housley Recognize Favorable 32% 18% Recognize Unfavorable 19 8 Recognize Neutral 23 27 Don't Recognize 26 47 U.S. SENATE GENERAL ELECTION
If the 2018 general election for U.S. senator were held today, would you vote for...?
Amy Klobuchar
(DFL) Jim Newberger
(Republican) Other Undecided 56% 33% 4% 7% Klobuchar Newberger Other Undecided Men 51% 37% 4% 8% Women 60 29 4 7 Democrats 99 1 0 0 Republicans 14 73 4 9 Independents / other 46 31 8 15 18-34 65 29 1 5 35-49 60 31 4 5 50-64 50 35 5 10 64+ 51 37 3 9 Under $50,000 65 24 3 8 $50,000 and over 50 38 4 8 Hennepin / Ramsey 70 23 1 6 Metro Suburbs 50 38 3 9 Southern Minn. 53 34 5 8 Northern Minn. 44 41 7 8 Amy Klobuchar
(DFL) Jim Newberger
(Republican) Other Undecided 60% 30% 4% 6% Klobuchar Newberger Other Undecided Men 54% 34% 5% 7% Women 66 26 3 5 Democrats 97 0 1 2 Republicans 17 73 1 9 Independents / other 59 23 11 7 18-34 75 16 4 5 35-49 57 29 6 8 50-64 59 33 3 5 64+ 55 36 4 5 Under $50,000 58 32 4 6 $50,000 and over 59 31 4 6 Hennepin / Ramsey 69 25 2 4 Metro Suburbs 51 35 8 6 Southern Minn. 66 25 3 6 Northern Minn. 55 34 3 8 Do you recognize the name ______? (IF YES) Do you have a favorable, unfavorable or neutral opinion of ______?
Amy Klobuchar Jim Newberger Recognize Favorable 51% 11% Recognize Unfavorable 26 4 Recognize Neutral 22 25 Don't Recognize 1 60 Amy Klobuchar Jim Newberger Recognize Favorable 56% 19% Recognize Unfavorable 19 2 Recognize Neutral 24 15 Don't Recognize 1 76 Do you think it is or is not the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have health care insurance?
Is Is not Not sure 52% 40% 8% Is Is not Not sure Men 46% 46% 8% Women 58 35 7 Democrats 84 11 5 Republicans 23 70 7 Independents / other 43 45 12 18-34 55 38 7 35-49 53 39 8 50-64 51 42 7 64+ 51 41 8 Under $50,000 56 36 8 $50,000 and over 51 42 7 Hennepin / Ramsey 65 28 7 Metro Suburbs 48 44 8 Southern Minn. 50 41 9 Northern Minn. 39 53 8 Smith voters 87 7 6 Housley voters 16 77 7 Undecided (Smith/Housley)/ Other 42 42 16 Klobuchar voters 80 13 7 Newberger voters 16 76 8 Undecided (Klobuchar/Newberger)/ Other 22 73 5 Do you support or oppose letting people buy in to public health insurance programs including Medicare and MinnesotaCare?
Support Oppose Not sure 70% 11% 19% Support Oppose Not sure Men 69% 12% 19% Women 71 10 19 Democrats 82 2 16 Republicans 63 16 21 Independents / other 63 15 22 18-34 74 7 19 35-49 72 13 15 50-64 70 8 22 64+ 67 12 21 Under $50,000 69 8 23 $50,000 and over 74 10 16 Hennepin / Ramsey 73 8 19 Metro Suburbs 66 15 19 Southern Minn. 68 9 23 Northern Minn. 73 10 17 Smith voters 79 4 17 Housley voters 59 20 21 Undecided (Smith/Housley)/ Other 71 7 22 Klobuchar voters 78 6 16 Newberger voters 60 21 19 Undecided (Klobuchar/Newberger)/ Other 55 3 42 About the poll
This Star Tribune/MPR News Minnesota Poll findings are based on interviews conducted Oct. 15-17 with 800 Minnesota likely voters. The interviews were conducted via land line (60 percent) and cellphone (40 percent). The poll was conducted for the Star Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio News by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc. Results of a poll based on 800 interviews will vary by no more than 3.5 percentage points, plus or minus, from the overall population 95 times out of 100. Margins are larger for groups within the sample, such as Democrats and Republicans, and age groups. The self-identified party affiliation of the respondents is 38 percent Democrats, 33 percent Republicans and 29 percent independents or other. Sampling error does not take into account other sources of variation inherent in public opinion surveys, such as nonresponse, question wording or context effects. In addition, news events may have affected opinions during the period the poll was taken. Readers can e-mail questions to matt.delong@startribune.com. Demographic breakdown of this polling sample
PARTY DFL/Democrat 306 (38%) Republican 265 (33%) Independent/Other 229 (29%) AGE 18-34 136 (17%) 35-49 210 (26%) 50-64 237 (30%) 65+ 210 (26%) Refused 7 (1%) GENDER Male 384 (48%) Female 416 (52%) INCOME < $25,000 106 (13%) $25,000-$49,999 119 (15%) $50,000-$74,999 131 (16%) $75,000-$99,999 129 (16%) $100,000+ 140 (18%) Refused 175 (22%) REGION Hennepin/Ramsey 255 (32%) Metro Suburbs 230 (29%) Southern Minnesota 160 (20%) Northern Minnesota 155 (19%) INTERVIEW Land-line 479 (60%) Cell Phone 321 (40%)
