KSTP poll: Dayton’s support slips ahead of potential government shutdown

Support for Gov. Mark Dayton is slipping as an impasse with the Republican-led Legislature heads toward a potential government shutdown, according to a new poll conducted by SurveyUSA. Of those surveyed, 42 percent expressed support for the job Dayton is doing, while 43 percent expressed disapproval.

Those figures are down considerably from previously polls assessing support for Dayton’s job performance. A Star Tribune poll released last month found that 54 percent of respondents approved of his performance in office, while Public Policy Polling pegged his support at 51 percent earlier this month.

Dayton’s support remains significantly higher than that of the Republican-led Legislature. Just 23 percent of those surveyed by SurveyUSA expressed support for the state House and Senate, while 65 percent indicated disapproval.

The poll, however, offered better news for Republicans on the budget front. The KSTP survey found that 60 percent of respondents believed that state government should decrease spending going forward, while just 8 percent expressed support for spending more in the future. Previous polling has found that a majority of Minnesotans support a mix of increased revenue and spending cuts to eliminate the state’s $5 billion budget deficit.

If a government shutdown ensues on July 1, voters would blame the governor and the Legislature equally, according to the SurveyUSA poll. Dayton would be most responsible for the standoff according to 21 percent of respondents, while 20 percent would point the finger at the House and Senate. Half of those surveyed indicated that the two factions would be equally deserving of blame.

The SurveyUSA poll, which was commissioned by KSTP-TV (Channel 5), surveyed 600 Minnesota residents and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.