Poll: Klobuchar Leads GOP Rivals for Governor, But She's No Lock

ST. PAUL, MN — A new Minnesota Poll shows U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar with a clear lead over her potential Republican opponents in the race for governor, but the numbers come with a warning sign for Democrats.

Klobuchar tops House Speaker Lisa Demuth 48 percent to 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup, according to the Star Tribune/KARE 11 poll of 800 likely voters conducted June 8-10.

She leads retired health care executive Kendall Qualls by a similar margin and bests MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell 53-36.

But she's running far behind the massive margins that carried her to four U.S. Senate victories.

Independent voters favor Klobuchar in every matchup, but up to 15 percent of the electorate is still undecided, leaving Republicans room to close the gap before November.

The Senate race to replace retiring Sen. Tina Smith also leans Democratic, with roughly half of voters saying they'd back a Democrat versus 41 percent for a Republican. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan holds a slight favorability edge over Rep. Angie Craig in the DFL primary.

On the Republican side, former sportscaster Michele Tafoya is far better known than party-endorsed former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze; 68 percent of voters don't recognize Schwarze's name.

The poll's margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.