With less than one month remaining until midterm elections, two prominent Minnesota Democrats are in effective ties with their respective Republican challengers.
New polls show Attorney General Keith Ellison in a dead heat against political newcomer Jim Schultz, as well as Rep. Angie Craig against old foe Tyler Kistner over her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The recent poll for the attorney general’s race, courtesy of MinnPost, found that 47% of likely voters would vote for Ellison and another 47% for Schultz. 5% of voters remain undecided, and the survey’s margin of error is 2.6%.
MinnPost described some of the survey results as a demonstration of “warning signs for Ellison,” including his unfavorability rate of 45% compared to a favorability rate of only 36%.
Ellison and Schultz took part in their first debate in the attorney general’s race this past Friday, where Schultz took aim at Ellison’s support for replacing the Minneapolis Police Department with a department of public safety. The measure was rejected by Minneapolis voters last November.
Rep. Angie Craig, an incumbent looking to hold on to her seat in the U.S. House representing Minnesota’s 2nd congressional district, is also neck and neck with Tyler Kistner.
Although Kistner unsuccessfully ran against Craig in the 2020 election, he lost by only 10,000 votes out of nearly 424,000 total cast. This year’s election might be even closer.
In a KSTP/SurveyUSA poll published this week, Craig currently leads Kistner 46% to 45%. The margin of error is 2.7%.
5% of voters responded to the poll with their intention to vote for the Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate Paula Overby, whose name remains on the ballot even though she died earlier this month. Another 4% of voters are undecided.
Craig has made attempts in recent months to brand herself as a moderate Democrat or even bipartisan, as voters in the 2nd congressional district are now almost evenly split among party lines. Despite this, Craig has voted with President Joe Biden’s positions 100% of the time.
Evan Stambaugh
Evan Stambaugh is a freelance writer who had previously been a sports blogger. He has a BA in theology and an MA in philosophy.
