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STAR TRIBUNE: “POLL: VOTERS BACK COLEMAN OVER DFL CHALLENGERS”
By Michael B. Brodkorb | May 18, 2008
“A new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll found that registered voters back Coleman over DFLers Al Franken and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, both of whom are vying for the party endorsement at next month’s DFL convention. Coleman leads Franken by 7 percentage points — 51 percent to 44 percent — and is ahead of Nelson-Pallmeyer by 15 points — 53 percent to 38 percent.
Coleman also holds an 8 point lead over Mike Ciresi, who dropped out of the race in March for lack of support from his party’s delegates, but has been noncommittal when asked if he’s thinking about reentering the race in the wake of Franken’s tax problems.” Source: Star Tribune, May 18, 2008
Click here for the complete story.
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It is amazing that Mike Ciresi could get into this race tomorrow and be more competitive than Al Franken. Ciresi ended his campaign over two months ago, but he’s in a dead heat with Franken against Coleman and he doesn’t have all of Franken’s baggage
I’ll have more posts on the new Minnesota Poll from the Star Tribune later tonight on Minnesota Democrats Exposed.
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25 Responses to “STAR TRIBUNE: “POLL: VOTERS BACK COLEMAN OVER DFL CHALLENGERS””
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May 18th, 2008 at 5:42 PM
It is amazing that Mike Ciresi could get into this race tomorrow and be more competitive than Al Franken. /em>
that statement pretty much explains just how delusional you are MBB. In one paragraph you say that Franken is ahead, by one point albeit, but still ahead, and in the next paragraph you are trying to make your readers believe Ciresi is more competitive. That isn’t even spin, that is just silly.
May 18th, 2008 at 5:52 PM
Yoni: I know you’re a big fan of Al Franken, but Ciresi is likely the strongest Democrat that the DFL could run against Coleman. Walz has ruled out running, so you’re left with a potential Ciresi candidacy.
I stand by my comment, as the poll has a margin of error of plus/minus 3.6 percent. Both Ciresi and Franken start at the same point against Coleman, but a Ciresi candidacy isn’t hindered by personal tax problems. Ciresi hasn’t done anything for over two months, but he’s tied with Franken.
This poll is bad news for Team Franken.
May 18th, 2008 at 6:15 PM
With the way the Star Trib/Minnesota Poll has performed in recent years, Coleman is probably ahead 60-40.
May 18th, 2008 at 6:35 PM
I hope no Democrat reads this but Cirisi would have upwards of a 75% chance of victory, where Franken is maybe at 25%. Paying your taxes matters in a contest that is normaly right around 50-50 (ignoring the dynamic that Jesse Ventura might add to the race).
Nobody as far as I know is asking for Franken to be punished for his tax situation, but a basic standard of good citizenship is required for most voters.
May 18th, 2008 at 7:03 PM
This new poll is incredible!
When Mike Ciresi withdrew from the race on March 10, I thought to myself that he was the last chance the DFL had at beating Coleman. This poll proves my belief.
What a statement this poll gives to the strength of Franken’s campaign. A candidate who has not been in the race for two months is literally tied with the money machine that is Franken’s campaign. Or does the poll speak to the strength of Mike Ciresi?
The day the news broke about Franken’s $25,000 fine in the state of New York, Mike Ciresi was giving the keynote address at a seminar on the importance of Workers’ Compensation Insurance.
I think it is both the strength of Mike Ciresi as a candidate and the fallacies of the Franken campaign that give us this poll.
If the democrats have any hopes of defeating Coleman, they better push Franken to step aside and allow the more electable Ciresi to take charge. However, Franken would have to be at the bottom of the sea before he realized it was time to abandon ship.
May 18th, 2008 at 7:22 PM
About $200,000,000.00 EVERY YEAR goes into the Minnesota State Coffers because of the settlement with the State of Minnesota and Big Tobacco.
Today it was announced that higher Education took a $18,000,000.00 budget hit.
Another $200 million contrasted to $18 million would mean that higher education wouldn’t have had to take that hit, and there would still be $182 million left!
The $200 million per year is important.
May 18th, 2008 at 7:24 PM
[Too many zeros for me to deal with. I forgot to write that the Tobacco Settlement was handled by attorney and Minnesota native, Mike Ciresi.
May 18th, 2008 at 7:26 PM
Cerisi always was the DFL’s best chance to beat Coleman. He’s professional, moderate and accomplished. The DFL would rather nominate a Leftist hate-monger like Franken, however.
May 18th, 2008 at 7:46 PM
It’s a giant bummer that the DFL nominates like they do, or even that the primary is so late in the season because the endorsement process rewards people who suck up to the delegates (something Franken excels at but Ciresi was terrible at).
Because now we DFLers who don’t have our heads
up our asses are stuck watching Franken get a a standing ovation before and after every mediocre-to-average speech that he gives and we have to give a senate seat to Coleman/MDE/Ensign. MDE knows damn well that Ciresi isn’t getting back into the race and so is playing the “Ciresi is the only chance they have!” card, but still, he’s got a point. Franken is an ass-clown. Not because of any lame tax issues, just because he is. And Ciresi would have kicked Coleman’s ass.
May 18th, 2008 at 7:50 PM
I’m pretty sure that if Norm keeps campaigning with a bucket full of (Michael’s) mud and fear of his own record, even Mark Dayton could beat him this fall.
May 18th, 2008 at 9:34 PM
Leroy pull your head from your butt…the poll indicate otherwise.
May 18th, 2008 at 9:35 PM
Dude! As a lib, your view won’t change no matter who you vote for! ( sorry had to go for the laugh nothing personal)
May 18th, 2008 at 10:37 PM
If Ciresi won the nomination, I don’t think Republicans would simply give up. It would still be a hard fight to the end, but Mike would likely win because he is a strong candidate. Democrats seem to underestimate Coleman’s strength, and think they can win with Franken.
Although many democrats view Mike Ciresi as a compromise candidate, he really is their only hope.
What bad things can you say about Ciresi? He’s wealthy? He’s divorced? Those are both very weak arguments.
Mike Ciresi was a lower to middle class Minnesotan who worked his way through college to become a successful attorney who fought the special interests. He now gives back to his community in many ways and always does the right thing. (I have no problem with good people making a good amount of money while doing a good thing.) His life is the American Dream. Ciresi would have connected Coleman to the President and shown himself to be a person who will not be influenced to the special interests. He would have been the candidate of the middle class.
Elections are won by the candidate who wins the moderate and independent votes. Franken will never win this group of voters. Ciresi can. His campaign would have brought victory for Democrats in November.
May 18th, 2008 at 10:48 PM
Mike says: “I HOPE no democrats read this. . . ”
———-
HOPE springs eternal in the human breast,
Man never is, but always to to be blessed:
The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.
Alexander Pope, 1733
[The short break time for the humanities is over. Unfortunately this might mean that some MDE posters may eventually gravitate to a popular MDE topics: heads that are inside butts.]
May 19th, 2008 at 7:53 AM
The bottom line is this: Team Coleman is using the State GOP in this attack on Franken, and they’re doing it before the DFL Convention because they know Franken can’t get any help.
It’s a desperate attempt to knock Franken out now.
How desperate? So desperate they’d use Ron Carey to criticize Franken’s paperwork problems.
RON CAREY.
Folks, since the Strib decided to revisit Carey’s paperwork problems, the state GOP has filed 50 (FIFTY!!) Amended FEC Reports, to reports they had previously amended.
Whether the Franken story has any basis or not, does not change the sordid history of the paperwork problems within the Republican Party Of Minnesota.
And Team Coleman is so desperate to knock Franken out, now, that they risked tagging every candidate in the state is a hypocrite by using Carey as a surrogate.
The most disgusting thing about Carey, is how he tossed Colonel Repya under the bus – calling Colonel Repya essentially “the enemy within the party” for bringing up the paperwork problems last year.
Today’s GOP Leadership does not tolerate dissent, even when it’s factual – witness Colonel Repya.
Just wait until Franken gets the endorsement, and everyone can get behind Franken and fire for effect on Franken’s behalf.
The gloves will be off, and the hypocrisy of the State GOP will be on display.
Many in the GOP will be wondering why Carey wasn’t dumped last year, when they had the chance.
GOP leadership, of course, will be blaming everyone but themselves.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:44 AM
Flounder must have hit the bong early today.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:04 AM
“Just wait until Franken gets the endorsement, and everyone can get behind Franken and fire for effect on Franken’s behalf.”
Pfft. The charge of the Wanker Brigade, featuring dolt #1, resplendent in his K-Mart regalia and E-bay ribbon display.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:06 AM
I absolutely will not vote for Ron Carey for my U.S. Senator.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:10 AM
“About $200,000,000.00 EVERY YEAR goes into the Minnesota State Coffers because of the settlement with the State of Minnesota and Big Tobacco.”
Right from the pockets of every Blue Cross-Blue Shield member in the country.
“Mike Ciresi was a lower to middle class Minnesotan who worked his way through college to become a successful attorney who fought the special interests.”
Mike Ciresi is the poster boy for Tort Reform. He’s a scumbag ambulance chaser that hit the financial jackpot and now is frozen with the desire to cap off his Pile O’ Cash with the power of a Senator’s office.
I guess, when you think about it he *is* the perfect Democrat candidate.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Michael, yes, I am a Franken fan, but not like I was before all of these scandals. He is in a tough spot and according to the poll Ciresi is competitive, but not more competitive. In retrospect my post was reactionary, I know Franken is toast, I am not happy with the way his campaign has been run, but I still like him more than Stormin Norm’in.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:45 AM
So, MoN – you obviously don’t believe Bush The Lesser is an election issue, either?
May 19th, 2008 at 12:01 PM
“Just wait until Franken gets the endorsement, and everyone can get behind Franken and fire for effect on Franken’s behalf.â€
… and still only achieve 45 percent of the vote.
May 19th, 2008 at 12:08 PM
I absolutely will not vote for George W. Bush for President in 2008.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:38 PM
MoN, you musta missed the meaning. That’s ok. When this election is in the books, it’ll bcome clear. Because whether you like it or not, Bush is the elephant in the room.
May 21st, 2008 at 1:53 PM
Swiftee: “Mike Ciresi…” “He’s a scumbag ambulance chaser that hit the financial jackpot and now is frozen with the desire to cap of his Pile ‘O Cash with the power of a Senator’s office.”
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Attacking someone’s MOTIVATION usually isn’t very smart. YOU are not that person.
He worked his way through college and still does WORK very diligently, doesn’t translate very well to your term: “hit the financial jackpot.”
His mother also died of cancer when he was at a younger age.
Mike Ciresi has choices NOW, that I believe that neither you nor I have.
I don’t think that those choices came from the slot machines, playing at the blackjack tables, or betting on the horses – and thereby hitting the jack pot. They came from diligent work.