There are a couple of new Minnesota polls out today to digest. Most notably, the Quinnipiac University poll shows impressive gains for Sen. John McCain in the state. The survey found that Sen. Barack Obama now leads by just two percentage points, 46-44. A month ago the same poll showed the Democrat with a healthy 17-point lead and suggested that the notion that Minnesota is up for grabs in November is a fallacy.
The Quinnipiac poll also found that McCain is closing the gap in three other battleground states. The Republican actually now has a two-point lead in Colorado, according to the poll, while he trails in Michigan by four points and in Wisconsin by 11 points.
The Quinnipiac survey held further good news for state Republicans in relation to the U.S. Senate race. The poll showed Sen. Norm Coleman expanding his lead over Al Franken, with a commanding 53-38 advantage. A June 26 Quinnipiac study found Coleman with a 10-point lead.
Rasmussen Reports, by contrast, finds Franken and Coleman locked in a dead heat, with the incumbent’s 44-43 lead falling well within the margin of error. Unlike most polls, Rasmussen has consistently showed the race to be exceedingly tight, with just one of its seven surveys since February finding Coleman with a lead of more than three points. The poll of 500 likely voters was conducted on Tuesday.
Comment