Poll: Most think Minnesota is on the wrong track

This is the first time in the Walz era when a majority of Minnesotans believe the state is on the wrong track.

Gov. Tim Walz signs an elections reform package into law at the Capitol. (Office of Gov. Tim Walz/Flickr)

(Center of the American Experiment) — With Gov. Tim Walz and DFL legislators patting themselves on the back, taking selfies and firing up the marching band, most Minnesotans in the latest Thinking Minnesota poll were telling pollsters they are not on board with their so-called “transformative” agenda. Fifty-one percent of respondents said Minnesota was on the “wrong track” in a poll taken over the weekend as the 2023 session came to a close. Only 37% rated the work of the legislature as “excellent” or “good.” Fully 58% of Minnesotans rated their work as “only fair” or “poor.”

“After all the positive coverage of the Democrats’ legislative agenda, it’s shocking to see more than half the state thinks we’re on the wrong track,” said John Hinderaker, president of Center of the American Experiment. “Gov. Walz needs to cancel the marching bands and check in with regular Minnesotans about how they feel about spending all of the surplus, raising taxes and passing a far-left policy agenda.”

This is the first time in the Walz era when a majority of Minnesotans believe the state is on the wrong track. In March of 2019, 57% of Minnesotans believed the state was on the right track.

The poll was conducted over the weekend by Meeting Street Insights, a nationally recognized polling operation based in Charleston, South Carolina. Using a mix of cell phones and landline phones, the company interviewed 500 registered voters across Minnesota from May 21-23, 2023. The margin of error is +-4.38 percent.

The wording of the wrong track/legislative approval questions were as follows:

First, thinking about things here in Minnesota, generally speaking, would you say that things in Minnesota are going in the right direction, or have they gotten off on the wrong track?

43% RIGHT DIRECTION

51% WRONG TRACK

4% NO OPINION/NOT SURE

1% REFUSED

Now, thinking about the state legislature, overall, has the work done so far by the Minnesota legislature during the current legislative session been excellent, good, only fair, or poor?

12% EXCELLENT

25% GOOD

27% ONLY FAIR

32% POOR

4% NO OPINION/NOT SURE

1% REFUSED

Earlier polling from Thinking Minnesota showed Independents have been strongly against the Walz/DFL agenda, and in all cases, they match or exceed opposition from their fellow Minnesotans.

  • Raising the sales tax in the metro area to pay for transit projects is opposed by 58% of Minnesotans and 58% of Independents.
  • Raising the tax on all retail deliveries such as those from Amazon, Fed-Ex, or Door Dash is opposed by 72% of Minnesotans and 72% of Independents.
  • Raising the fee for car tabs is opposed by 81% of Minnesotans and 86% of Independents.
  • Sex change operations for minors is opposed by 67% of Minnesotans and 67% of Independents.
  • Restoring the right to vote for convicted felons BEFORE they serve their full sentences is opposed by 60% of Minnesotans and 68% of Independents.
  • Creating a new payroll tax to pay for a state-run paid family leave program is opposed by 50% of Minnesotans and 71% of Independents.

The complete results of the poll will be released in the next issue of Thinking Minnesota magazine.

 

Bill Walsh

Bill Walsh is the Communications Director at Center of the American Experiment.