| UPDATED: This was a call from Public Policy Polling -- full results can be found here, and are pretty damning for Coleman's chances in yet another statewide race.
Is former Senator Norm Coleman polling the Gubernatorial race?
It certainly seems that way, based on a report I received from a reader. A call came from a firm in North Carolina asking several poll-style questions:
--Approval or Disapproval of President Obama's job performance?
--Approval or Disapproval of Amy Klobuchar's job performance?
--Was the recount more or less favorable toward Norm Coleman?
--Positive or Negative impression of Senator Franken, now that he's been seated?
And then it gets interesting....
--Positive or Negative impression of "Former Sen. Dayton"
---Positive or Negative impression of "Speaker of the State House Margaret Anderson Kelliher"
-Positive or Negative impression of "Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak"
Match-ups between all three and Coleman AFTER "Positive or Negative" question. It's that last series of questions that's a tipoff of the poll's source. Coleman is, of course, fresh off a long and bruising campaign and legal battle over a slim loss to Senator Al Franken. Nevertheless, as a popular TV character once said, this is sort of what politicians do: they run for things.
Remember, dear readers, that if you receive a polling call, do your best to write down the exact questions being asked, and try to figure out the source and sponsor of the poll. Internal water-testing polls like this one aren't likely to be released to the public, but when they leak out they still provide us insight into who's doing what among potential candidates.
UPDATE: From the full results, here's a great little tidbit: 54% of voters in the state said the way he handled the recount against Al Franken made them less likely to support Coleman in the future for Governor or some other office, compared to 26% who said it made them more inclined to vote for him in a later contest.
Pitted specifically against a trio of potential Democratic contenders for next year, Coleman trails Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak 43-37, has a 41-39 deficit against fellow former Senator Mark Dayton, and leads House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher by a 42-34 margin. |
