Poll: Voters Oppose Delaying Election In Minnesota's 2nd District

EAGAN, MN — More than 70 percent of voters in Minnesota's Second Congressional District oppose delaying their U.S. House election, according to a new poll. Normington Petts, a Washington D.C.-based Democratic pollster, conducted the poll.

The date of the election for the second district seat in the U.S. House was thrown into question when Adam Weeks, who was running as the Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate, died in September.

Per state law, a special election would be held in February, Secretary of State Steve Simon confirmed following Weeks' death. However, the campaign to reelect Rep. Angie Craig filed a lawsuit Sept. 28 in order to prevent a delay.

Craig's campaign argued that Minnesota's law on special elections conflicts with federal law.

On Oct. 9, a federal judge ruled in Craig's favor, granting an injunction and forcing the election back to the original date of Nov. 3.

The campaign for Republican challenger Tyler Kistner is appealing that decision and argues that residents have already mailed in their ballots while thinking the election would be delayed.

"As recently as this week, the United States Supreme Court and Appeals Courts have ruled that state laws cannot be overturned on the eve of an election. We are confident that the Minnesota State Law will be upheld during the appeals process," Kistner said in a statement Oct. 9.

"We hope the Attorney General will fulfill his obligation to defend state law."

According to Kistner, "numerous voters have reached out to our campaign and stated that they did not vote in the 2nd District race because they were told their vote would not be counted on November 3rd."

"Additionally, we canceled numerous TV and digital advertising buys, and refrained from sending out voter contact mailings."

According to the Normington Petts poll, "when voters are informed about Weeks’s death and the state law, 72 percent prefer to have the results of the November election count while just 15 percent prefer the special election in February."

The poll also found that Craig leads Kistner 53 percent to 35 percent.

In an email to Patch Monday, Kistner's campaign stated that "Angie Craig has obviously spent way too much time in the swamp. Her poll numbers, just like her promise to be an independent voice for Minnesota's Second Congressional District, are nothing more than fabricated distortions."