The Star Tribune and MPR News interviewed 800 Minnesota registered voters between Feb. 17 and Feb. 19. Findings from questions about Gov. Tim Walz, marijuana legalization, mining and other state issues are below. Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Scroll down the page for details about how the poll was conducted and the demographics of the 800 respondents.
Do you approve or disapprove of Tim Walz’s job performance as governor?
Approve | Disapprove | Not sure |
56% | 25% | 19% |
Approve | Disapprove | Not sure | |
---|---|---|---|
Hennepin/ Ramsey | 65% | 12% | 23% |
Rest of metro | 53 | 29 | 18 |
Southern Minn. | 47 | 37 | 16 |
Northern Minn. | 55 | 29 | 16 |
Men | 54 | 27 | 19 |
Women | 58 | 23 | 19 |
DFL/ Democrat | 78 | 3 | 19 |
Republican | 31 | 51 | 18 |
Independent/ other | 56 | 25 | 19 |
18-34 | 61 | 20 | 19 |
35-49 | 51 | 26 | 23 |
50-64 | 55 | 27 | 18 |
65+ | 58 | 27 | 15 |
Under $50,000 | 55 | 27 | 18 |
$50,000 and over | 58 | 24 | 18 |
No college degree | 52 | 28 | 20 |
College graduate | 59 | 23 | 18 |
If state spending is increased, which one of the following areas do you feel should have top priority?
Pre-K - 12 public education | Health care | Trans- portation | Social services | Higher ed. | Other/ not sure |
32% | 29% | 14% | 10% | 8% | 7% |
Pre-K - 12 public education | Health care | Trans- portation | Social services | Higher ed. | Other/ not sure | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hennepin/ Ramsey | 33% | 26% | 11% | 13% | 9% | 8% |
Rest of metro | 30 | 30 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
Southern Minn. | 36 | 29 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 5 |
Northern Minn. | 30 | 34 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
Men | 31 | 28 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
Women | 33 | 30 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 6 |
DFL/ Democrat | 33 | 25 | 6 | 20 | 11 | 5 |
Republican | 29 | 35 | 20 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
Independent/ other | 33 | 29 | 15 | 4 | 9 | 10 |
Under 50 | 36 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 7 |
50 and over | 29 | 34 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
Under $50,000 | 31 | 27 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 6 |
$50,000 and over | 36 | 29 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 7 |
No college degree | 30 | 31 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 6 |
College graduate | 33 | 28 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 8 |
Do you think Minnesota should or should not legalize marijuana for recreational use?
Should | Should not | Not sure |
51% | 37% | 12% |
Should | Should not | Not sure | |
---|---|---|---|
Hennepin/ Ramsey | 54% | 35% | 11% |
Rest of metro | 50 | 38 | 12 |
Southern Minn. | 50 | 37 | 13 |
Northern Minn. | 47 | 42 | 11 |
Men | 54 | 35 | 11 |
Women | 48 | 40 | 12 |
DFL/ Democrat | 59 | 30 | 11 |
Republican | 42 | 47 | 11 |
Independent/ other | 50 | 37 | 13 |
18-34 | 75 | 19 | 6 |
35-49 | 63 | 29 | 8 |
50-64 | 39 | 46 | 15 |
65+ | 37 | 50 | 13 |
Under $50,000 | 54 | 37 | 9 |
$50,000 and over | 52 | 36 | 12 |
No college degree | 47 | 41 | 12 |
College graduate | 55 | 35 | 10 |
Generally speaking, do you support or oppose building new mines near the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota?
Support | Oppose | Undecided |
22% | 60% | 18% |
Support | Oppose | Undecided | |
---|---|---|---|
Hennepin/ Ramsey | 17% | 69% | 14% |
Rest of metro | 24 | 56 | 20 |
Southern Minn. | 25 | 54 | 21 |
Northern Minn. | 26 | 57 | 17 |
Men | 23 | 61 | 16 |
Women | 21 | 59 | 20 |
DFL/ Democrat | 11 | 80 | 9 |
Republican | 39 | 37 | 24 |
Independent/ other | 19 | 59 | 22 |
18-34 | 23 | 59 | 18 |
35-49 | 19 | 66 | 15 |
50-64 | 23 | 58 | 19 |
65+ | 24 | 56 | 20 |
Under $50,000 | 24 | 59 | 17 |
$50,000 and over | 22 | 62 | 16 |
No college degree | 24 | 57 | 19 |
College graduate | 21 | 62 | 17 |
When it comes to mining, which is a higher priority:
Protecting the environment | Providing jobs | Same/ not sure |
66% | 19% | 15% |
Approve | Disapprove | Same/ not sure | |
---|---|---|---|
Hennepin/ Ramsey | 72% | 14% | 14% |
Rest of metro | 65 | 22 | 13 |
Southern Minn. | 64 | 19 | 17 |
Northern Minn. | 60 | 23 | 17 |
Men | 68 | 19 | 13 |
Women | 64 | 19 | 17 |
DFL/ Democrat | 85 | 5 | 10 |
Republican | 45 | 38 | 17 |
Independent/ other | 65 | 17 | 18 |
18-34 | 68 | 19 | 13 |
35-49 | 71 | 14 | 15 |
50-64 | 63 | 22 | 15 |
65+ | 64 | 21 | 15 |
Under $50,000 | 63 | 22 | 15 |
$50,000 and over | 67 | 21 | 12 |
No college degree | 66 | 20 | 14 |
College graduate | 65 | 19 | 16 |
About the poll
The findings of this Star Tribune/MPR News Minnesota Poll are based on live interviews conducted Feb. 17 to Feb. 19 with 800 Minnesota registered voters. The poll was conducted for the Star Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio News by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc.
The sample for this survey was drawn from a Mason-Dixon database that includes approximately 2.2 million registered Minnesota voters who are matched with a telephone number – either a land line, a cell phone or both. A random sample of 100,000 voters from unique households with unique phones was drawn from this database for use in calling on this poll.
Those interviewed were randomly selected by computer from this phone-matched Minnesota voter registration file with quotas assigned to reflect the state’s voter registration distribution by county. For example, Hennepin County and Ramsey County combined account for 32% of the state’s registered voters, so 32% of the survey interviews were completed there. The interviews were conducted via land line (42%) and cellphone (58%).
The margin of error for this sample of 800 registered voters, according to standards customarily used by statisticians, is no more than ± 3.5 percentage points. This means that there is a 95 percent probability that the "true" figure would fall within that range if all voters were surveyed. The margin of error is higher for any subgroup, such as a gender or age grouping.
The self-identified party affiliation of the respondents is 37% Democrats, 32% Republicans and 31% independents or other.
Sampling error does not take into account other sources of variation inherent in public opinion surveys, such as nonresponse, question wording or context effects. In addition, news events may have affected opinions during the period the poll was taken.
The demographic profile of this poll of registered voters is an accurate reflection of their respective voter populations. This determination is based on more than 100 statewide polls conducted by Mason-Dixon in Minnesota over the past 32 years – a period that spans eight presidential election cycles that began in 1988.
Readers can e-mail questions to matt.delong@startribune.com.
Demographic breakdown of this polling sample
PARTY | ||
---|---|---|
DFL/ Democrat | 298 | (37%) |
Republican | 256 | (32%) |
Independent/ other | 246 | (31%) |
AGE | ||
18-34 | 139 | (17%) |
35-49 | 210 | (26%) |
50-64 | 240 | (30%) |
65+ | 208 | (26%) |
Refused | 3 | (1%) |
INCOME | ||
< $25,000 | 84 | (11%) |
$25,000-$49,999 | 144 | (18%) |
$50,000-$74,999 | 135 | (17%) |
$75,000-$99,999 | 103 | (13%) |
$100,000+ | 162 | (20%) |
Refused | 172 | (21%) |
GENDER | ||
---|---|---|
Men | 387 | (48%) |
Women | 413 | (52%) |
REGION | ||
Hennepin/ Ramsey | 255 | (32%) |
Rest of metro | 230 | (29%) |
Southern Minnesota | 160 | (20%) |
Northern Minnesota | 155 | (19%) |
EDUCATION | ||
High school or less | 116 | (15%) |
Some college/ Vocational | 258 | (32%) |
College graduate | 249 | (31%) |
Graduate degree | 145 | (18%) |
Refused | 32 | (4%) |
INTERVIEW | ||
Land-line | 335 | (42%) |
Cell Phone | 465 | (58%) |
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