Polls: Clinton has big lead over Trump; Minnesota voters unhappy with direction of country
Published 10:04 am Monday, May 2, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS — A new statewide poll conducted for the Star Tribune finds Democrat Hillary Clinton holding a big lead over Republican Donald Trump among Minnesota voters.
The latest Minnesota Poll finds Clinton leading Trump 48 percent to 35 percent in a matchup between the two presidential front-runners, the Star Tribune reported Sunday. The telephone poll of 800 registered Minnesota voters was taken April 25-27 by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc. and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The poll found that Trump fares worst in major cities, among young voters and among women. But it also found Trump nearly even with Clinton in nine exurban Twin Cities counties, and that Clinton’s slightly wider lead over the billionaire businessman in outstate Minnesota was within the poll’s margin of sampling error.
Clinton was overwhelmingly popular in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, Minnesota’s two most populous counties, and that helped make up for the former secretary of state and U.S. senator’s deficiencies in the rest of the state, the poll found.
Clinton and Trump both face trust problems among Minnesota voters, the poll found. According to the poll, only 37 percent of voters think Clinton is honest and just 34 percent say Trump is truthful.
Christine Oakland, 46, a school building engineer from Maple Grove who participated in the poll, initially preferred Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic race but now thinks Clinton will be “a great candidate.”
“She’s got a lot of knowledge and at least you know you’re getting someone who knows how the job works,” Oakland said.
Minnesota voters unhappy with direction of country
MINNEAPOLIS — A new poll finds Minnesota voters are somewhat pessimistic about what lies ahead in the near future for the country.
The Star Tribune’s Minnesota Poll shows that 65 percent of Minnesotans polled say the nation is headed in the wrong direction. Just 21 percent feel the next four years will be better.
The poll shows voters have significant doubts about the abilities and truthfulness of the presidential front-runners, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.
More than half of those polled in Minnesota say jobs, terrorism and national security are top concerns heading into the fall election.
The poll of 800 registered voters sampled last week has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.