A new poll from three progressive groups finds that Minnesotans are embarrassed by their state’s most famous Representative, Michele Bachmann. Even independents in state — some of the group Bachmann supposedly speaks for as a national leader of the Tea Party movement — are embarrassed by her time in Congress.
The Research 2000 poll, sponsored by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Democracy For America and Credo Action, found that just 29% of Minnesotans say they’re “proud” to have Bachmann in Congress while 56% are embarrassed.
But those numbers change significantly when the specific Minnesotans Bachmann represents are asked for their opinion of her.
In the 6th district, which Bachmann has represented since 2007, 47% say they’re proud of her, while 39% say they’re embarrassed. In the neighboring 7th district which borders the Dakotas to the west of Bachmann, voters are also split on her. Forty-five percent of 7th District respondents, represented by Rep. Colin Peterson (D) since the early ’90s, said they were proud of Bachmann. 40 percent called her an embarrassment.
Along party lines statewide, the numbers aren’t especially surprising. A vast majority of Democrats (87%) are embarrassed by the firebrand Bachmann, while a large majority of Republicans (58%) are proud of her. Just 12% of Republicans said Bachmann was an embarrassment, and just 8% of Democrats say they’re proud of the job she’s doing.
Among independents, though, the numbers are a surprise. As a national leader of the Tea Party movement, Bachmann has rallied independents nationwide in the past year. But the same can’t be said of independents in her home state. According to the poll, just 26% of independents in Minnesota are proud of the job Bachmann has done in Congress, while 62% call her an embarrassment.
The PCCC/DFA/Credo poll was first reported by the Minnesota Independent this morning.
