Minnesota Republicans still like former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, who lost his seat to Democrat Al Franken after a protracted battle that ended this summer. In a new Rasmussen poll, he was by far the favorite potential candidate Republicans wanted to see as the GOP nominee in the 2010 governor's race. Half of those polled said he was their pick.
Republicans were given a choice among Coleman, who has said he'll decide next year whether to run for governor, state Reps. Marty Seifert, Tom Emmer and Laura Brod. Seifert, who was the choice of 11 percent, and Emmer, who was picked by one percent, are both actively running for governor. Brod, who got five percent in the poll, hasn't made clear if she will run or not.
Democrats were given a choice of four candidates out of the 12 11 who are running. Thirty percent of those polled picked Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak as their favorite and another 30 picked former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton. House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher was the choice of 8 percent and former state Rep. Matt Entenza got 5 percent in the poll.
