Minnesota Poll: Klobuchar with comfortable lead in U.S. Senate race

Democratic incumbent Sen. Amy Klobuchar leads Republican challenger Royce White in Minnesota’s Senate race according to a new poll conducted last week for MPR News, KARE 11 and the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Fifty-one percent of likely voters in Minnesota would vote for Klobuchar if the election were held today. Forty percent say they would vote for White. That 11 percentage point difference is beyond the survey’s margin of error. Eight percent of voters say they are currently undecided.

Joyce Lynne Lacey of the Independence-Alliance Party and Rebecca Whiting of Libertarian Party also appear on the ballot for Minnesota’s U.S. race, but only one percent of likely voters in this poll indicated that they would vote for “someone else.”

The results of this poll are similar to the results of seven other public polls conducted about the race to date, all of which show Klobuchar in the lead, by an overall average of 11.9 percentage points. Only two polls conducted to date, both conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of The Telegraph, show the race as within the margin of error.

For details and a continually updated look at the polling trends in the state this election cycle, see: Minnesota Poll Watch 2024 (MPR News).

While Klobuchar has sewn up support from 99 percent of Democrats, only 83 percent of Republicans currently say they would vote for White, a relative political newcomer with some controversial positions. Most of the remainder of Republicans, 12 percent, are undecided.

Notably, 5 percent of Minnesota voters who favor former President Donald Trump in the presidential election say they would split their ticket and vote for Klobuchar if the election were held today. Less than two percent of Vice President Harris’ supporters would split their ticket and vote for White.

According to this poll, White leads the race among some groups of Minnesota voters, including males and those residing outside of the Twin Cities metro area. Klobuchar, however, dominates among women, Black, Indigenous and people of color, and younger voters, along with those with a four-year college degree and those living in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.

Editor’s note: Detailed poll results and complete methodology are available in a report prepared by APM Research Lab, MPR News’ sister organization. For continually-updated results of election-year polling in Minnesota, see Minnesota Poll Watch 2024.

• Minnesota House tie in peril after judge rules DFL lawmaker can’t be sworn in
• Government funding bill clears Congress and heads to President Biden, averting a shutdown
• Election 2024: DFL holds Minnesota Senate; House control uncertain
• Election results FAQ: How votes are counted and what comes next after Election Day