Political Party

New survey finds Minnesotans want better return on tax dollars

A new survey released by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Tunheim Partners finds that the majority of respondents do not want state government to raise taxes. According to the survey, 63 percent advocated cutting overall government spending to balance the state budget. But interestingly enough, 6 out of 10 of the respondents also said they would be willing to personally pay more to improve services like K-12 outcomes, long-term care and ensuring Minnesota's infrastructure.

The poll also concludes that Minnesota is a "purple state" with voters evenly divided among Independents, Republicans and Democrats. When it comes to the 2010 gubernatorial election, the poll found that neither Democrats or Republicans have an advantage. It also found that Democratic and Republican legislators have a 59 percent disapproval rating. Meanwhile, Gov. Tim Pawlenty's job approval rating was 49 percent. Half of those surveyed said the next governor should have real-world experience and not be a career politician.

The random telephone survey of 602 respondents was conducted Aug. 4 to 6. All participants were screened to be likely November 2010 voters. The margin of error is plus-minus 4 percentage points. To learn more about the survey, click here.

Penny says he lacks "fire in the belly" to run for gov

Former First District Rep. Tim Penny is ruling out a run for governor.

"Bottom line, I am certainly not thinking of any sort of a run for public office — governor or anything else for that matter," he said.

As speculation has swirled around potential Independence Party candidates for the 2010 governor's race, Penny's name has continued to pop up. But Penny, who now heads the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, said he is enjoying his job and has no interest in jumping back into politics.

"I don't have the fire in the belly to get into politics at any level right now," he said.

In 2002, Penny ran for governor as an Independence Party candidate, losing in a three-party race. He previously served as a DFL congressman representing the First District from 1982 to 1994. He also served in the Minnesota Senate.