ST. PAUL, Minn. (KFGO) – New polling shows Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is facing the lowest approval ratings of his time leading the state.
The approval rating for Walz dropped to 39% in the poll. A majority of likely voters disapproved of Walz’s performance, while 8% were undecided. Even more striking is the drop in support from Democrats. Last year, 91% of Harris voters in Minnesota said they approved of Walz but that has now sunk to 69%.
Political analyst Blois Olson notes that the numbers for Walz are lower than the president.
“Donald Trump is not popular in Minnesota, but he’s more popular than Tim Walz,” Olson explains. “And so, that would begin to say that there’s a certain slice of voters out there that are fed up with both Democrats and Republicans this year. And they’re going to be a real wildcard going into this governor’s race.”
He says the governor’s declining popularity could prompt more Democrats to distance themselves on the campaign trail ahead of the midterms. The reason, he says, is due in part to the damage the state’s fraud crisis has done to his reputation.
“The idea that he is now below 40% in popularity in his own state shows that the volatility and the mood of the electorate is not invested in long-term relationships right now,” notes Olson. “They want people they can trust, that are consistent and that are there. And he just has had trouble kind of pulling that off the last few years.”
In January, Walz decided to remove himself for the race for governor, after initially seeking an unprecedented third consecutive term in Minnesota.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is now running for the state’s highest office. Her opponents on the GOP side are House Speaker Lisa Demuth, local businessman and the GOP endorsed candidate Kendall Qualls, and MyPillow founder and fervent Trump supporter Mike Lindell.
The Minnesota Primary will be August 11.
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