Poll: Franken and Coleman in virtual dead heat

startribune.com ^ | August 22, 2008 | Paul Walsh

[Names Ash Housewares]

Summer is entering its final weeks, but the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota is hotter than ever.

A poll released today by Minnesota Public Radio and the Humphrey Institute has Democrat Al Franken and Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in a statistical dead heat.

Respondents gave 41 percent support to Franken and 40 percent for Coleman. Another 8 percent said they are backing Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley. Eleven percent said they are undecided.

[Names Ash Housewares]

WTF is in the water?

Franken has a loose grasp on sanity, we should not stand by and let him come within grasp of high office!

A donation to Coleman is in order.

[Thebaddog]

It’s NPR. More than likely it’s a poll of registered voters and not LIKELY voters.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Anyone who believes this poll, I’d like to talk to you about a bridge I’ve got up for sale.

[socal_parrot]

The Real Clear Politics Average of polls has Coleman up by 6...

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/senate/mn/minnesota_senate-257.html

[nathanbedford]

Wasn't there a poll posted just the other day which had Franken way underwater?

[Parley Baer]

I think this is a total BS poll. I bet the internals would show it.

[oneamericanvoice]

41% are morons. Maybe it’s the cold up there. Whatever it is, they shouldn’t be allowed outside of the state, and to reproduce.

[MNJohnnie]

Yes a donation would be good. But also look at the internals. They had to poll 50% Democrat respondents to get a tie. What next? 60% Dems to manufacture a phony race?

[Cyber Liberty]

A poll released today by Minnesota Public Radio and the Humphrey Institute ...

Chill. Insane leftists in a leftist state.

[Names Ash Housewares]

Said likely voters....

“Between Aug. 7 and 17, 763 likely Minnesota voters were surveyed. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.”

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

NPR/MPR/Humphrey Institute poll. It’s slanted, no doubt...

From today’s Norm e-mail:

“First, let’s deal with some facts.

We have always maintained this would be a close election. With Franken and his Democratic allies one-upping each other on who can throw more mud at Norm, it’s going to be a slugfest all the way through the election.

Second, Al Franken’s “tie” with Norm Coleman in this MPR poll is illusory and is as much a fantasy as Al Franken’s claim that he didn’t know he was supposed to pay his taxes — or that he didn’t get more than a dozen pieces of mail telling him to pay his workers’ compensation premiums.

This poll drastically oversampled Democrats, using a 50 percent Democrat sample. When a poll oversamples Democrats to such an extent that one has to wonder if the poll was conducted using New York voters, it’s hardly a triumph for Al Franken to be tied with Norm Coleman in the poll.

Furthermore, when Norm holds a clear advantage with independents in this and other polls, it’s pretty obvious that Al Franken’s brand of attack politics just isn’t what Minnesotans want.

And, even worse for Franken—he can barely muster 70% of Democrats in Minnesota to vote for him! He trails his own party’s Democratic candidate by nearly 10 points...and, if his DFL opponent is able to muster another television commercial or two, Al Franken is going to be facing serious issues in the September primary.

The truth of the matter is, if Franken can’t win 90% of DFL primary voters on September 9th, the continuing drum of defection from his campaign to other candidates will pick up in both tone and tenor......”

[Emile]

I would think that picking only 50% Democrats to poll in MN would be seriously under-representing them in that state.

Why would it be so hard to believe that a left-leaning state like Minnesota might actually elect Franken?

[Names Ash Housewares]

that is comforting to read,

still Franken is a walking joke, he shouldn’t be polling above 10!

I will be contributing to Coleman for sure.

[j_k_l]

To quote Rush...

[paudio]

This is poll by NPR. It’s probably only among their listeners.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Helen Thomas has dropped a couple of pounds, I see...

[Pinta]

Since this poll was conducted by NPR and the Humphrey Institute they probably only polled liberals. But then again, this is Minnesota and the liberal hold on this state is very strong.

[MNJohnnie]

We have a Republican Gov. We have a Republican Senator. Half our Congressional districts, up to 2006, were held by Republicans. In the last 30 years we have had more Republican Senators then Democrat Senators.

Mn is Leftist state in Presidential politics. Inside the state things are not so clear cut.

It about 40-D 35-R 25-I here in MN and Faken is seriously losing the I vote EVEN in this poll to Coleman.

[MNJohnnie]

Please read post 18

[smokingfrog]

Here is an example of some of the deep thoughts that you typically find in the minds of the great liberals of MN. Usually goes something like this:

blah blah blah neo-conartists blah blah Fairness Doctrine blah blah blah Big Corporation blah blah Fringe Right Wing Neo-conartist blah blah propaganda blah blah disinformation blah blah hard-working Americans blah blah garbage and lies and neo-conartist public relations right wing fringe spin blah blah right wing blah blah Big Corporations blah blah single-issue religious fundamentalists blah blah Pavlov's dogs blah blah blah right wing neo-conartists blah blah hard-working Minnesotans blah blah Al Franken blah blah blah Norm "Windsock" Coleman blah blah neo-cons blah blah blah...