The survey found that more than one-half of respondents, 56%, think the state is on the wrong track. This is higher than the 40% of respondents who felt the same way last year. 

The top five problems facing the state according to respondents are the economy(22%), followed by the budget (16%), unemployment was third (13%), with education (12%) and taxes (7%) coming in fourth and fifth respectively. Last year the top five were health care, budget, education, unemployment and taxes.

56% of respondents said Governor Pawlenty’s performance as only fair or poor. Last year his approval rating was about 50%.  Similar to Governor Pawlenty, President Obama’s performance rating dropped since last year with 61% of respondents rating his performance fair or poor. 

In the local Governor race, Mark Dayton garnered 37% of support, Tom Emmer came in second with 27%, and Tom Horner in third with 18%.   Mark Dayton was found to be leading almost every demographic category.