David Brauer in MinnPost's Daily Glean:
KSTP probably got a little ratings bump last night with a poll showing Michele Bachmann trailing El Tinklenberg 47-44 percent. Margin of sampling error plus or minus 4. MPR's Tom Scheck says his station will release a 6th District poll today. The lefty website Daily Kos reprints a national Republican"Death List" (PDF) that rates Bachmann's race a "true toss-up." (The 3rd District Madia-Paulsen race also earns that classification.) The Republicans pulled their national money out of Bachmann's district yesterday.
More poll: Minnesota Independent's Chris Steller looks at the crosstabs and finds Tinklenberg leading among women (53-41) and independents (51-35). Surprisingly in the GOP-heavy district, Bachmann gets only 79 percent of Republicans while Tinklenberg takes 87 percent of Dems. If Bachmann can shore up support in her own party, she wins. But there might be more moderate Repubs in the 'burbs than urban Dems assume. The Strib's Pat Doyle notes the NRA-endorsed Bachmann gets just half of gun owners' votes.
Brauer also links to the Strib outdoors columnist Dennis Anderson's report about the confusion over Bachmann's support for an amendment to increase taxes for the arts and wildlife habitat:
Lawn signs advocating the campaigns of candidates for various offices are strewn across Minnesota in these concluding days of the election cycle.
Perhaps none imply a more incorrect message than those of Sen. Norm Coleman and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann when they are grouped, side by side, with signs advocating "Vote no" on the proposed Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
Such groupings occur in a relative handful of cases statewide.
The combination of signs suggests that Republicans Coleman and Bachmann, both of whom generally support low taxes, oppose the amendment (the amendment, if approved, would increase the state sales tax three-eighths of 1 percent).
In fact, Coleman and Bachmann support the proposed amendment, as do most, if not all, of the Minnesota congressional delegation, including retiring Republican Rep. Jim Ramstad, DFL Rep. Collin Peterson, DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar and DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken is also a supporter.
Coleman, Bachmann and Franken spoke in August at Game Fair in Anoka of their support of the Clean Water amendment. Coleman and Bachmann also displayed blaze orange "Sportsmen vote yes" placards in their Game Fair booths (Franken also might have, but I was unable to confirm it).
The "Vote no" lawn signs have been problematic for some Republicans since the state Republican Party decided to distribute them. A co-chairman of Minnesota Sportsmen for McCain/Palin quit that post when he learned the signs were being distributed.
And Gov. Tim Pawlenty has said he had no knowledge his party planned to distribute the signs, and was surprised to hear it.
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