Monday, August 10, 2009

Republican Party ID Matches Democrats for First Time in Minnesota Since Oct. 2005

(smartpolitics).The latest monthly SurveyUSA poll finds more Minnesota residents identifying as Republicans than at any point in more than four years.

The new poll, conducted July 17-19 of 600 adults statewide, also finds Republicans now match the Democrats in party ID for the first time since October 2005. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4.1 points.

The SurveyUSA poll finds 34 percent of Minnesotans now identify as Republicans - the largest percentage enjoyed by the GOP in 63 surveys conducted by the organization dating back to its inaugural tracking poll in May 2005, when 35 percent identified as Republicans.

Democrats have held advantages over the GOP in party ID of moderate to large margins since late 2005. The percentage of residents identifying as Democrats in Minnesota had even eclipsed the 40 percent mark nine times since the 2006 election - and as recent as April and June of 2009, and now they are tied 34-34 with republicans.

The Democratic slide - and Republican gain - in party ID may be tied to the slipping approval ratings of President Barack Obama. Obama's approval numbers were measured at an all-time low of 51 percent in July by SurveyUSA, down eight points from June.

The gains in party ID statewide may also be catching up to the recent, gradual increase in conservative ideology in Minnesota observed by Smart Politics earlier this year.

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