New Poll Shows Most Dem Candidates Would Defeat Trump In Minnesota, Including Klobuchar
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A new Star Tribune-Minnesota poll shows top Democratic candidates doing very well in one-on-one match-ups against President Trump, among Minnesota voters. The poll comes just over a year before the 2020 election and four months before Minnesota's March 3, 2020 primary.
According to the poll, Joe Biden would beat Trump, 50% to 38%. Sen. Bernie Sanders would beat Trump, 49% to 40%. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren would beat Trump, 51% to 40%.
However, Sen. Amy Klobuchar would beat Trump by an even larger margin than all of them, 55% to Trump's 38%. The margin of error was 3.5%.
One note of caution, in the run up to the 2016 election nearly every poll underestimated the Trump's support.
"It is still definitely possible that support for Trump could be missed, that all those who support Trump are still underrepresented in this poll or any poll," University of Minnesota professor Kathryn Pearson, with the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, said.
Considering Klobuchar's history of landslide wins in Minnesota, her showing in this poll is not that surprising. However, Klobuchar has struggled to emerge from the bottom of most polls.
"She really just hasn't clinched enough support to make it to that next debate," Pearson said.
If there's a place where Klobuchar can build momentum following a strong debate performance, it's in Iowa. The Minnesota senator's Midwestern roots and pragmatic approach to politics could resonate in the nation's first caucus state.
But during a two-day tour that spanned 11 counties, Klobuchar's hurdles were also apparent. She was overshadowed by Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who was also in Iowa and earned headlines after feuding with Hillary Clinton.
However, some believe her breakout performance in last week's presidential debate could help her turn the campaign around. She has to improve her poll numbers in order to qualify for that next debate, which is Nov. 20. The deadline for qualifying is Nov. 13.
The Star Tribune-Minnesota poll also revealed where Minnesotans currently sit on the topic of impeachment, with a very small margin of those polled saying they oppose impeachment -- 48% to the 47% of responders who said they support it.
A breakdown by age finds a clear Minnesota generation gap. Among those 18 to 34 years old, 61% support impeachment and 32% oppose it, while among those between 50-64 years of age, 57% oppose impeachment and 40% support it.
"We don't know what is ahead in the next week or the next several days, and the findings could move in either direction depending on what Congress does or doesn't do," Pearson said.
