Polinaut: July 17, 2006 Archive

Poll reaction

Posted at 7:26 AM on July 17, 2006 by Mike Mulcahy (3 Comments)

The Star Tribune has come out with the first local polls of the campaign season.

The Minnesota Poll published Monday on the Senate race shows Amy Klobuchar at 50 percent and Mark Kennedy at 31 percent.

As you might expect the two campaigns had widely differing reactions to the numbers. The Strib reported the Klobuchar camp said it was pleased but not surprised. And the Kennedy campaign's reaction was to take a shot at the messenger:

Heidi Fredrickson, Kennedy's press secretary, said on Sunday that "given the Star Tribune poll's long and consistent track record of getting it wrong, we weren't exactly expecting good news. We're confident about where we're at this point in the campaign. We're hopeful the Democrats actually believe this stuff."

For those of you keeping score Independence Party endorsed candidate Robert Fitzgerald garnered 3 percent in the poll, two points lower than IP gubernatorial candidate Peter Hutchinson in the previous day's poll on the governor's race.

That polls showed incumbent Republican Tim Pawlenty (43 percent) in a statistical dead heat against DFL endorsed candidate Mike Hatch (41 percent).

In a head to head matchup with DFLer Becky Lourey it was Pawlenty 47, Lourey 28. But in a press statement Lourey said she's not discouraged:

“The results of the Minneapolis Star Tribune Minnesota Poll are not surprising. The poll only reinforces what we already know: the two most well-known statewide politicians are still the most well known. Early name recognition alone doesn’t determine the outcome of an election nor does it indicate who is best suited to lead Minnesota over the next four years.

“It is early in the election process and most Minnesotans are still learning about the candidates in this race. Any conclusion about the outcome of this race based largely on name recognition poll is premature and unwise.

“History has told us that Minnesotans decide on leadership based upon a vision for Minnesota - not because a candidate is widely known eight weeks before the election.

That's eight weeks before the primary. The general is still nearly four months away.

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Mattson reaction

Posted at 10:57 AM on July 17, 2006 by Mike Mulcahy (2 Comments)

First, the statement issued by the Matt Entenza campaign:

Statement from John Van Hecke, Entenza Campaign Manager, on Mattson Filing

We welcome Ms. Mattson to the race. She certainly has a right to run. People want an experienced Attorney General. Matt has a twenty year record as a white-collar crime prosecutor, as an Assistant Attorney General and as a consumer advocate who passed the “Do Not Call” Bill.

Matt Entenza stands up for Minnesotans.

-Matt Entenza took on the HMOs, forcing them to cover reasonable hospital stays for new moms and their babies.

-Matt Entenza fought to keep Minnesota a non-profit HMO state and to hold all HMOs accountable to patients.

-Matt Entenza was the chief author of the widely-lauded “Do Not Call” bill protecting families’ peace-of-mind and their privacy.

-Matt Entenza worked as a white-collar crime prosecutor, locking up criminals who ripped off Minnesota families.

We are disappointed that Ms Mattson is viciously attacking Matt’s wife, Lois. Lois has done nothing wrong. She’s being dragged through the mud simply because of where she works. Lois Quam is a woman of remarkable integrity who has worked hard, earned her way, sees the best in people and Matt is proud of her.

It belittles Ms Mattson to advance her candidacy by attacking Matt’s wife.

The real question in this race is who can we trust to protect Minnesota’s health – and Matt Entenza has a 20 year record of doing it. Matt has repeatedly stood up to the health insurance industry to protect people. He fought for tough, new laws that get HMO bureaucrats out of the business of making medical decisions. Matt pushed for greater accountability and compensation disclosure for executives at non-profits. This is the experience and leadership that Minnesotans expect from their Attorney General.

Matt Entenza is a former Assistant Attorney General, a Hennepin County white-collar crime prosecutor and, as a State Representative, is a relentless consumer advocate and champion of privacy rights. Minnesotans know that Matt Entenza will be a prosecutor for the people.

It’s a clear choice.

-30-

Now from DFL party chair Brian Melendez:

"Jennifer Mattson has a history of challenging – and losing to – DFL-endorsed candidates for statewide office. She has nothing approximating the record and experience of Representative Entenza. She has been a lawyer for two and a half years, while Matt Entenza has been a prosecutor, a legislator, an assistant attorney general and the House Minority Leader.”

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Rove to raise money for Kennedy

Posted at 4:14 PM on July 17, 2006 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)

The Associated Press is reporting that President Bush's top political advisor will hold a fundraiser for Republican Congressman Mark Kennedy's senate campaign on Friday.

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Entenza statement says he's undeterred

Posted at 5:12 PM on July 17, 2006 by Tom Scheck

This is one of several statements released today by Matt Entenza:

"I am proud to be a Democrat who helps elect other Democrats. We have a lot of Democratic friends in a lot of places and we are always happy to help them.

I have always fought for what I believe in. That's why I will fight for Minnesotans as Attorney General for better health care and to keep kids and families safe. That's the fight I am focusing on.

Over the last few days my opponents have tried to land a few hits, but it is nothing compared to the hits the people of Minnesota have taken every day under this Republican administration.

I look forward to this campaign to help Minnesota families stay safe and healthy more than ever because it is a small price to pay to serve the people of this state."

Luther says he's not running for A-G or Congress

Posted at 5:58 PM on July 17, 2006 by Tom Scheck

I just got off the phone with former DFL Congressman Bill Luther. He basically said "I don't have any plans to get into races this year," when I asked him if had any intentions of running for Minnesota Attorney General of for Congress in Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District.

When I asked him if we would see him filing at the Secretary of State's Office on Tuesday he replied "I never say never but I don't think you'll see me there."

Will Strib poll results hurt Kennedy nationally?

Posted at 10:31 PM on July 17, 2006 by Tom Scheck

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.