A new poll reported Tuesday in the St. Paul Pioneer Press shows just how much Minnesota voters appear to care about the state attorney general race at the moment.
The poll, conducted Sept. 18-20 by the Pioneer Press and Minnesota Public Radio, showed DFL candidate Lori Swanson with a 37 percent to 24 percent lead over Republican Jeff Johnson. But, while the poll has margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points, a 13-point Swanson edge seems to mean little when one considers other relevant statistics.
Most noteworthy are the poll's numbers pertaining to name recognition and the percentage of people undecided on a candidate. Of the 625 registered voters questioned in the poll's statewide telephone survey, 49 percent said they didn't recognize Swanson's name. Fifty-six percent, meanwhile, said they didn't recognize Johnson's. And, perhaps most importantly, more than one-third of the voters questioned identified themselves as undecided.
Considering the high-profile campaign for governor between incumbent Republican Tim Pawlenty, DFL nominee (and current Attorney General) Mike Hatch, and the Independence Party's Peter Hutchinson, it's somewhat understandable that voters are paying the attorney general's race little mind right now. It quite likely got most of its media attention around the time when Matt Entenza announced his decision to drop out.
Nevertheless, the attorney general -- as Johnson pointed out in a visit to the Daily Globe on Monday -- is the state's chief law enforcement officer. It's an important post, and we intend to eventually endorse a candidate. We also strongly encourage voters to endorse their own.
