After just over a year in office Gov. Tim Walz is getting good marks from Minnesota voters.

A new MPR News/Star Tribune Minnesota Poll shows 56 percent of those surveyed said they approve of his job performance, 25 percent disapprove and 19 percent are unsure.

Jeff Boyd, of Woodbury, is a Democrat who likes Walz for trying to work with Republicans.

“As opposed to ‘it’s my way or the highway,’ things do seem to be getting done,” Boyd said. “So, I think he’s a part of that as well to be able to broker both sides to come to agreements on stuff.”

There was more approval than disapproval for Walz in all areas of the state. The lowest approval was 47 percent in southern Minnesota, where Walz served as a member of Congress for a dozen years before becoming governor.

Not surprisingly, many of Walz’s detractors are Republicans.

Gretchen Barrett, a poll respondent from Hanover, northwest of Minneapolis, disagrees with the governor on taxes and spending.

“We have a huge surplus, which is really irritating as a citizen of Minnesota. Usually it’s basic budgeting of this is how much money we’re getting in taxes and this is what we spend it on. We are already very overtaxed in this state.”

Walz and lawmakers will be trying to decide this session how to best use the state budget surplus, which is currently projected at $1.3 billion.

Poll participants shared their priorities for additional spending this year.

Pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education was the top priority of 32 percent of respondents. Health care was close behind at 29 percent, with transportation at 14 percent and social services at 10 percent.

House Deputy Minority Leader Anne Neu, R- North Branch, said the poll question left out an important option that many in her party favor.

“Tax relief was not one of the options presented in the survey,” Neu said. “So, I wonder how these results would have been a little different if tax relief had been on the table.”

The poll also looked at several high-profile policy issues facing the state.

A slim 51 percent majority said Minnesota should legalize marijuana for recreational use. Thirty-seven percent said the state should not legalize, and 12 percent were not sure.

House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, the chief sponsor of legalization legislation this year, said he was surprised by the numbers, noting that support has been higher in other polls.

“In general, support has been on the rise. So, it’s strange to see a poll indicating perhaps that it’s not in Minnesota,” Winkler said. “On the other hand, the poll does indicate a lot of people unsure about the issue, which is probably people struggling to decide how they feel about it.”

On the issue of mining, just 22 percent said they support building new mines near the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota, compared to 60 percent opposed and 18 percent undecided.

The opposition was strongest in the metro area and among self-identified Democrats.

A majority — 66 percent — also said that protecting the environment should be a higher priority than providing mining jobs —19 percent.

Martin Seeger, a poll respondent from Waubun, Minn., north of Detroit Lakes, is among those with concerns about the the Boundary Waters.

“It’s one of the last untouched places in Minnesota. So, it’s really something I think we ought to preserve,” Seeger said.

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The poll of 800 registered voters was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy from Feb. 17-19. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

MPR News data reporter David H. Montgomery contributed to this story.



Read the survey question wording relevant to this and previous reports.