A new poll shows incumbent Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN-03) closing in on Democratic challenger Dean Phillips (pictured, right) in what could end up being Minnesota’s most expensive and competitive congressional race.
According to KSTP and SurveyUSA, Paulsen trails Phillips 44 percent to 49 percent, a seven-point increase for Paulsen from an alarming Sept. 11 poll, and a three-point decrease for Phillips. Despite the significant uptick, Paulsen is still grappling with his ties to a president who is viewed favorably by only 38 percent of Third District voters.
As his opponent is apt to point out, Paulsen has a record of voting in line with the president 98 percent of the time, but skipped President Donald Trump’s Thursday visit to the state to “focus on [his] own record of getting things done.”
“I don’t take too much stock in any single poll,” Paulsen told 5 Eyewitness News. “I’m going to fight hard, work hard, and run hard no matter what.”
Paulsen is also struggling to maintain the support of his Republican base in the district, with polls showing that 17 percent of his 2016 voters are now siding with Phillips. But Paulsen is confident he can win back the support of his constituents, particularly females, 54 percent of whom favor Phillips.
“I’ve seen an extraordinary commitment of females on this campaign and around the country,” he said. “Energy, participation. Many of whom are telling me that until this election year have never been politically engaged before.”
Paulsen also believes that Phillips supporters will eventually come around to his health care proposals, an area Phillips currently leads among 74 percent of voters.
“I think voters are just getting to know Dean Phillips and the more they learn about him being a hypocrite, especially on health care, the more they’re not going to like it,” Paulsen suggested, saying he plans to go after Phillips over his plans to introduce a Medicare “buy-in.”
On the issue of jobs and the economy, Paulsen has the upper-hand over Phillips with 77 percent of Third District voters supporting his stance on the topic.
Although polls are giving him a slight edge, Phillips isn’t putting too much faith in his polling numbers.
“A poll is a single snapshot in time. The one that matters most, of course, is coming up on Nov. 6,” he commented.
According to the Center of Responsive Politics, fundraising in the race is beginning to look more like the state’s Senate contests as Phillips and Paulsen have raised a combined total of $6,276,496. Paulsen, whose campaign has raised $3,817,326, is vastly outraising Phillips, who sits at $2,459,170.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
