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Positive job ratings: 41% for Franken, 56% for Pawlenty
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More than 40 percent of Minnesotans questioned in a recent poll believe that junior U.S. Sen. Al Franken is doing his job well and a majority gave Gov. Tim Pawlenty pretty good odds of winning his party's nomination for president in 2012.
Those are among the findings in a Rasmussen Reports poll of 500 Minnesotans conducted last week.
The poll found that 41 percent of Minnesota voters think Franken is doing a good or excellent job, while 31 percent say he is doing his job poorly and 23 percent give him a mark of fair. Asked the same of Minnesota's other senator, Democrat Amy Klobuchar, she scores 56 percent excellent or good, 19 percent poor and 23 percent fair.
In that same poll, a vast majority believe that Pawlenty will likely run for president in 2012, with 29 percent saying very likely and another 43 percent saying somewhat likely. Eighteen percent saw Pawlenty's likelihood of seeking the White House as not very likely or not at all likely.
And should Pawlenty run, 50 percent saw his chances of winning the Republican Party nomination as somewhat or very likely. Another 36 percent said it was not very likely or not at all likely that he would be his party's choice.
On the job-approval front for Pawlenty, 56 percent strongly or somewhat approve, while 43 percent somewhat or strongly disapprove.
As for any lament about the time out of state that Pawlenty is spending as a speculative presidential candidate, 30 percent were very concerned, 20 percent somewhat concerned, 28 percent not very concerned and 18 percent not at all concerned.
Asked about President Obama's pursuit of overhauling health care, 49 percent either strongly or somewhat favor what the White House is trying to achieve, while 48 percent are somewhat or strongly opposed.
The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
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Current state office holders
Governor: Tim Pawlenty
One of only a few prominent Republicans to win a competitive re-election contest in the Democratic sweep of 2006, Tim Pawlenty is widely seen as politically shrewd and naturally likable.
- Lt. Governor: Carol Molnau
- Secretary of State: Mark Ritchie
- Attorney General: Lori Swanson
- State Auditor: Rebecca Otto
Minnesota's political giants: Learn more about the men and women who have shaped Minnesota's political history.
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