Gov. Tim Walz walks Lake Street in May 2020 with business owners affected by looting and riots following the George Floyd protests. (Anthony Soufflé/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Minnesotans of different political stripes vary dramatically in how they believe DFL Gov. Tim Walz handled the COVID-19 pandemic and the riots after the police murder of George Floyd, and remain divided now that he is running to become vice president.

The latest Star Tribune/MPR News/KARE 11 Minnesota Poll found 53% of those surveyed said they approved of how Walz has done as governor, while 44% disapproved. Voters who did not identify with either major political party were slightly more likely to have an unfavorable opinion of Walz’s job performance.

The poll’s findings are based on interviews with 800 likely Minnesota voters conducted from Sept. 16 to Sept. 18. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

(Scroll to the end of this article for full results for each question. Click here for the poll methodology, a demographic breakdown of the sample and a map of the poll regions.)

But respondents were almost equally divided on whether they view the governor favorably as he runs on Vice President Kamala Harris’ ticket. Forty-eight percent had a favorable opinion of Walz, while 47% were unfavorable.

Walz’s opponent for vice president, Republican Sen. JD Vance, is similarly polarizing for Minnesotans, with 91% of Democrats seeing him unfavorably, and 93% of Republicans favorable.

Independent voters are split on both Walz and Vance. Half of the politically independent respondents have an unfavorable view of Walz, with 42% approving and 8% unsure. For Vance, 45% disapprove, 40% approve and 16% are not sure what they think of the Ohio senator.

Looking back at 2020, 52% of poll respondents said they approved of the way Walz handled the COVID-19 pandemic, and 46% disapproved.

Meanwhile, 44% of respondents approved of how Walz handled the protests and riots after Floyd’s murder, and 52% disapproved.

Those who approve of Walz said they see him as a dedicated public servant who did well in the face of the pandemic and the protests.

“I think he did as good a job as could be expected,” said Bill Engels of St. Louis Park, even if, in hindsight, he thinks some of the COVID restrictions could have been a little more lax.

As for the riots in Minneapolis, Engels said he thought Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey deserved a share of the blame for how long it took to call in the National Guard, and said he believed there were both left- and right-wing agitators who were only too happy to see property destruction.

Charles Dolson, a Bemidji attorney who grew up on the Red Lake Reservation, said Walz has done a “phenomenal job” as governor and hopes Walz writes a book about his tenure during the pandemic to provide future state executives with a roadmap.

Even among Democrats, fewer think Walz handled the 2020 protests well than approve of him overall, though the overwhelming majority of Democrats still think he did a good job. Just over 80% of Democratic respondents approved of the way Walz handled the protests, compared to 94% who approve overall of the job he’s done as governor.

Those who do not support him see 2020 very differently.

“We had a riot on the George Floyd situation and he did nothing about it,” said Wayne Charles of Kenyon. “I think he’s the poorest governor we’ve had in my lifetime, and I’m 90 years old.”

Independent voters in Minnesota were divided on Walz’ handling of the protests. Half of those interviewed disapproved, compared to 42% who approved and 8% who are not sure.

Opinions on Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who would succeed Walz if he is elected vice president, are still largely unknown, with 47% of respondents saying they were not sure if they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of her. Even among Democrats, almost a third said they were not sure what they thought.

Staff writer Rochelle Olson contributed to this report.

FULL RESULTS

The Star Tribune, MPR News and KARE 11 interviewed 800 Minnesota registered voters between Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, 2024. All indicated they are likely to vote in the November general election. Findings from questions about Tim Walz’s tenure as governor, GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are below. Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Click here for details about how the poll was conducted, the demographics of the 800 respondents and a map of the Minnesota regions used in this poll.