A new survey of Minnesota from Public Policy Polling (D) has some tough news for Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is widely believed to be a potential presidential candidate for 2012. In his home state, where he is currently the two-term governor, he trails President Obama by a significant margin.
The numbers: Obama 51%, Pawlenty 40%, with a ±2.5% margin of error. This isn’t all that different from the 54%-44% margin by which Obama defeated John McCain in Minnesota for the 2008 election.
Still, Pawlenty does better here than Sarah Palin: Obama leads her in this state by 56%-35%.
Obama’s approval rating here is 54%, to a 39% disapproval, down from a 60%-30% score in April. From the pollster’s analysis: “Barack Obama’s popularity is declining as the economy continues to stagnate, but voters don’t trust the Republican leaders either. It doesn’t bode well for Tim Pawlenty’s prospects nationally when he has such an uphill battle in his own state.”