MN US Senate
By Eric Ostermeier on January 12, 2009
Much has been made of the extremely low favorability ratings Norm Coleman (and Al Franken) are enduring in the wake of numbers released in last week's SurveyUSA poll of Minnesotans conducted after the conclusion of the 2008 U.S. Senate recount process. The poll found Coleman's favorability numbers dipping to just...
By Eric Ostermeier on January 8, 2009
With the final results (court challenge pending) certified by the State Canvassing Board on Monday finding Al Franken with a 225-vote victory over Norm Coleman, the 2008 U.S. Senate race nearly eclipsed the 1962 gubernatorial election as the closest high-profile statewide election in Gopher State history. For 46 years and...
By Eric Ostermeier on January 6, 2009
Presuming Al Franken is eventually seated as the junior Senator from Minnesota sometime this year, the Republican Party will no doubt soon be gearing up to plan his political demise in 2014 - whether with Norm Coleman in a rematch or against another GOP opponent. Of course, assessing the likelihood...
By Eric Ostermeier on January 5, 2009
Throughout his U.S. Senate campaign, Al Franken was dogged by criticisms, even peppered from within his own party, that he was a 'weak candidate' for the DFL. These criticisms took many forms, such as stern words regarding Franken's writings and temperament from respected DFL U.S. Representative Betty McCollum to...
By Eric Ostermeier on January 2, 2009
Al Franken's 49-vote lead is expected by nearly all analysts to increase after the tabulation of wrongly excluded absentee ballots by the Canvassing Board this weekend. The final, hard data is now in to confirm these suspicions. Of the 953 ballots sent by the state's 87 counties to the Board,...
By Eric Ostermeier on March 17, 2008
Republican Senator Norm Coleman enjoys a 10-point lead over DFL hopeful Al Franken, according to a new survey of 644 registered voters by SurveyUSA, conducted on March 12th. Coleman leads Franken 51 to 41 percent, with 7 percent undecided. This represents a 9-point swing in Coleman's favor from the last...
By Eric Ostermeier on February 19, 2008
A new Rasmussen poll of 500 likely voters conducted February 16th finds 1-term Republican incumbent Senator Norm Coleman in a dead heat with both Al Franken and Mike Ciresi in the Gopher State. Franken leads Coleman 49 to 46 percent, within the poll's margin of error. This is the first...
By Eric Ostermeier on February 14, 2008
A new SurveyUSA poll of 650 registered voters in Minnesota conducted February 10-11 finds 1-term Republican U.S. Senator Norm Coleman in a dead heat with DFL candidate Al Franken. Coleman, who has remained fairly popular with Minnesotans despite a statewide turn to the left in recent years, has a statistically...
By Eric Ostermeier on February 1, 2008
A Minnesota Public Radio / Humphrey Institute poll of 917 Minnesotans finds DFL candidate Al Franken running ahead of 1-term Republican incumbent Norm Coleman 43 to 40 percent. The MPR / HHH survey, conducted January 20-27, marks the first time Franken has polled on top in any of the...
By Eric Ostermeier on November 7, 2007
In the third public poll released during the past week on the Minnesota U.S. Senate race, a SurveyUSA poll conducted November 2-5 finds Republican Norm Coleman leading all four potential DFL rivals. * Coleman leads Al Franken 48 to 44 percent. * Coleman leads Mike Ciresi 49 to 43 percent....
By Eric Ostermeier on November 6, 2007
A new Rasmussen poll was released today of 500 likely voters in the Minnesota Senate race that gives Republican Norm Coleman a narrow lead over both candidates, but confirms the race is still 'one to watch' in 2008. Coleman leads Mike Ciresi by a 46-43 margin in the new survey,...
By Eric Ostermeier on November 5, 2007
Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman has seen the 20-point lead he held in February 2007 against both Al Franken and Mike Ciresi dissolve to a tie according to a new SurveyUSA poll conducted October 24-28 of 692 registered voters in the Gopher State. Coleman holds a statistically insignificant 46 percent...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 20, 2007
When Democrats narrowly won a majority in the U.S. Senate in 2006, it was expected 2008 would shape up to be a fierce battle for control of that chamber. The political reality at this moment in time, however, is that Democrats nearly have as good of a chance to win...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 17, 2007
As a recent SurveyUSA poll showed Norm Coleman's lead over both Al Franken and Mike Cerisi down to low single digits, the question emerges as to whether or not the introduction of a viable third party candidate in the race could influence the outcome. In two of the past three...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 14, 2007
Republicans Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Charles Grassley of Iowa—were the first to comment on President George W. Bush's nationally televised address on Iraq. Many pundits had speculated that one of the key audiences for Bush's speech were Republican lawmakers, especially those (like Coleman), who have been critical of...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 11, 2007
In a new poll released today by Rasmussen Reports, Republican Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman now holds 5 and 4-point leads over his chief rivals—Al Franken and Mike Ciresi respectively. The poll, conducted September 6th of 500 likely voters in the Gopher State, finds Al Franken has closed the gap from...
By Eric Ostermeier on August 30, 2007
Senator Norm Coleman has taken advantage of two events this week to demonstrate to his Minnesota constituency that he is a centrist, independent voice for the state. In both cases he was critical of fellow prominent Republicans in Washington, D.C. On Monday, in response to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation,...
By Eric Ostermeier on August 3, 2007
Minnesota Senators Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar spearheaded federal legislation on Thursday to not only provide funds to rebuild the I-35 bridge, but also improve infrastructure problems nationwide. The Senators first called on the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) to immediately release emergency relief funding for the I-35W bridge disaster. However,...
By Eric Ostermeier on August 2, 2007
Minnesota Senators Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar released a joint statement tonight on the tragic I-35 bridge collapse over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis that occurred on Wednesday evening. Minnesota Senators Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar send their thoughts and prayers to the people of Minnesota, and pledge the full...
By Eric Ostermeier on August 1, 2007
There are good reasons the Democratic Party is targeting Minnesota for one of their best chances at a pick-up in the 2008 elections for the U.S. Senate. First, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman's job approval ratings have generally been mediocre to just south of mediocre throughout most of his four...
