Will Strib poll results hurt Kennedy nationally?
The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza writes in "The Fix" about the Star Tribune poll showing Klobuchar with a lead over Kennedy. Cillizza details the concerns that the GOP has had with the poll over the last several years (they've been wrong, they underestimate the GOP candidate too often).
But he also writes:
"Regardless of where you come down on validity of the Star Tribune polling results, Kennedy's campaign is sure to take a perception hit nationally over the next few days and weeks. While we tend to doubt that Klobuchar is up by nearly 20 points, she clearly is ahead at the moment (a poll conducted for her own campaign in April put her lead at eight).
We've had this race ranked as the most likely Democratic seat to turnover since we began ranking Senate races on the Friday Line, but this poll gives us real pause. Polling in Washington state, Maryland and New Jersey all show those races considerably closer -- a strong argument that they should leap over Minnesota in our rankings."
Why is this important? First, it could slow the fundraising flow from national GOP donors and conservative Political Action Committees to Kennedy's campaign. If the PACS, the individual donors, the RNC and National Republican Senatorial Committee don't think Kennedy can win the race, they'll spend money elsewhere like New Jersey, Maryland or Washington. They want to make sure the GOP keeps control of the U.S. Senate and won't divert resources to a seat they don't think they can win.
Get ready to see Kennedy hit the airwaves with ads in an attempt to improve his favorable ratings and bring up Klobuchar's negatives. That basically means a mix of warm and fuzzy Mark Kennedy ads (like the Klobuchar ad that's currently running) and negative ads on Klobuchar.
Side note: The KSTP-TV sign-in logs on Monday showed some folks with the Kennedy campaign visiting the station's legal department to discuss an ad buy.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.