KSTP/SurveyUSA Poll: Coronavirus response approval ratings for Trump, Walz

President Donald Trump continues to struggle convincing Minnesotans he’s handling the coronavirus pandemic effectively, while Minnesota Governor Tim Walz saw his coronavirus approval rating drop but still maintains majority support. Those are two key findings in our latest KSTP/SurveyUSA poll, along with a stark polarization of Democrats and Republicans.

According to the poll of 1,500 Minnesotans conducted from June 12 to June 15, 34% of Minnesotans approve of President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus. That number is unchanged from our poll in early May. Another 60% disapprove and 5% are not sure.

A deeper look inside the numbers shows a remarkable polarization of Democrats and Republicans, with 76% of Republicans approving of Trump’s response and just 5% of Democrats.

"I think we have reached peak polarization," said Carleton College political scientist Steven Schier. "Republicans and Democrats regarding President Trump are on different planets in this state. It reflects the fact that Trump really does divide partisans that we really haven’t seen presidents do in the past."

There’s polarization when it comes to Walz, too, but it’s not nearly as pronounced.

The survey shows the governor with a 64% approval rating among Minnesotans, down from 82% in May. Another 30% disapprove and 6% say they’re not sure.

"He had astronomically strong support in the previous KSTP poll of over 80%," said Schier, "but 64% is still pretty strong support for a number of restrictions some Minnesotans find to be controversial."

That’s especially true of Republicans, who give Walz just a 40% approval rating compared to 86% of Democrats and 66% of independents.

Minnesotans are more evenly split on whether the state economy is reopening at an appropriate pace. According to our survey, 26% say it’s happening too slowly, 28% say too quickly and 39% say at an appropriate pace. However, again, there’s a big split between Republicans and Democrats. Among Republicans, 50% say the economy is opening too slowly and just 6% of Democrats say so. Independents are in the middle at 29%.

The survey has a margin of sampling error of +/-3.1%.