Who are the popular kids? Klobuchar tops Trump, Walz, Smith

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, whose presidential campaign is sprinting to the finish ahead of the Iowa caucus next week, continues to be the state’s most popular politician, according to public-opinion polls aggregated by APM Research Lab and Minnesota Public Radio.

A mixture of 2019 polls by Morning Consult, Kaiser Family Foundation/Cook Political Report and the Star Tribune, found that President Donald Trump enjoys support of no higher than 43% of Minnesotans. His lowest approval rating of 39% in early 2019 climbed four points by the end of the year.

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, who was first appointed to replace Al Franken, lagged Klobuchar by more than 10 points. In Morning Consult polls she hovered around 42-43% approval. The former Minnesota lieutenant governor, Smith had spent most of her political career behind the scenes, working as chief of staff to former DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, and before that, former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.

DFL Gov. Tim Walz, who spent his first year in office traveling the state widely and doing more than 600 public events, saw his highest approval rating in the Kaiser Family Foundation/Cook Political Report pool at 64%. The former congressman won the DFL nomination for governor touting his statewide appeal.

All four politicians saw their highest approval numbers in the Kaiser Family Foundation/Cook Political Report polling, conducted from Sep. 23, 2019 to Oct. 15 with 958 voters in Minnesota. The poll carried a margin of error of plus or minus two points.