Minnesota Poll finds broad approval of Dayton

The following article by J. Patrick Coolican was posted on the Star Tribune website May 3, 2017:

Minnesota Poll: Approval rating of 62 percent is highest of governor’s political career.

Gov. Mark Dayton enters his final 18 months in office with the highest job approval rating of his tenure, according to a new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll.

More than three out of five Minnesotans — 62 percent — approve of Dayton’s performance, according to the poll. It’s the DFL governor’s highest approval rating in a Minnesota Poll since he took office at the beginning of 2011, and also higher than he ever scored in the poll as a U.S. senator from 2001 to 2006.

(See the poll results here.)

That’s likely to embolden Dayton as he grapples with the Republican-controlled Legislature over the state budget. Clashes over taxes and spending, transportation, health care and early education are certain to accompany the closing days of a session that ends on May 22. Continue reading “Minnesota Poll finds broad approval of Dayton”