More than half of Minnesotans surveyed recently in our KSTP-TV/SurveyUSA poll approve of the job performance of Gov. Tim Walz. Just over a third of respondents say they approve of the work done this session by the Minnesota Legislature.

According to the poll conducted from May 4-8 of 681 registered voters across Minnesota, 54% approve of the governor’s job performance, while 41% disapprove and 5% are not sure.

“What you see is pretty much constant support from the governor from the elections through this latest poll,” Carleton College political analyst Steven Schier said. “He’s above 50% and does particularly well with suburban and urban voters.”

It’s a different story outside the Twin Cities metro area, where only 38% approve of the governor’s performance.

As for the Minnesota Legislature, state lawmakers as a group lag far behind the governor in approval.

When asked their view about the work done so far by the Legislature, 37% rated it “excellent” or “good,” while 57% rated it as “fair” or “poor.” Outside the Twin Cities metro area, only 19% rated the Legislature’s work as “good” or “excellent” and 72% as “fair” or “poor.”

“People like their legislators more than they like the Legislature,” Schier says. “That’s true for Congress and that’s true for the Minnesota Legislature and that’s reflected in this poll.”

Schier adds that for all the talk about creating “one Minnesota,” this poll indicates there remains a big rural/urban divide. 

There is also a divide among people who identify as Democrats, Republicans and independents. While 89% of Democrats approve of Walz, only 25% of Republicans do and 46% of independents. As for the Legislature, 72% of Democrats think their work is excellent or good, while 80% of Republicans rate their work as fair or poor, with 72% of independents agreeing with Republicans.

“We don’t know the full impact of what the Legislature will produce,” Schier said. “Independents, I think, are showing some skepticism about the overall operation of the Legislature. That could be a problem for Democrats and an opportunity for Republicans in the 2024 elections.”

The poll included 34% of respondents who identified themselves as Democrats, 34% as Republicans and 27% as independents. The “credibility interval,” similar to a margin of error, is ±4.2%.

See the full breakdown of these survey results below: