Bachmann's vulnerabilities

Interesting numbers from a poll commissioned by Knoblach's campaign. For those of you who think that Michele Bachmann stands a chance in the general election you should take note of this.

The Tarrance Group is pleased to present the following findings from our most recent survey of general election voters across the Sixth Congressional District of Minnesota. The Tarrance Group was commissioned by the Knoblach for U.S. Congress campaign to conduct a telephone survey of N=300 registered voters across the district. A random sample of this type is likely to yield a margin of error of +5.8% in 95 out of 100 cases. Responses to the survey were gathered April 17-18, 2006.

The Tarrance Group has a history of having conducted polling in this congressional district, having been the pollster to the previous successful campaigns of U.S. Congressman Mark Kennedy. In addition, the firm has conducted polling for a host of successful Republican campaigns throughout the state.

As the table on the following page reveals, voters are concerned about the record of congressional candidate Michele Bachmann. For each of the messages tested, a majority of the electorate would be less likely to vote for Bachmann. For Republican voters as well as the general electorate, the issue of; 1) Bachmann not paying her campaign staff payroll taxes and, 2) her vote to allow gas prices to increase appear to be the two biggest concerns. All the messages could contribute toward making her less appealing to the voters in the general election.

Yikes. For the actual results keep reading.

IMPACT OF BACHMANN ISSUES ON VOTERS

Bachmann voted in favor of a guaranteed retail mark-up for gasoline, which increases gasoline prices.
All Voters More Likely 8%
All Voters Less Likely 71%
GOP Voters More Likely 13%
GOP Voters Less Likely 63%

Bachmann voted against the North Star Commuter Rail Line.
All Voters More Likely 23%
All Voters Less Likely 56%
GOP Voters More Likely 33%
GOP Voters Less Likely 40%

Bachmann missed 32 votes in 2005, more than the average State Senator, including a vote to prevent a government shutdown.
All Voters More Likely 10%
All Voters Less Likely 69%
GOP Voters More Likely 13%
GOP Voters Less Likely 57%


Bachmann took federal PAC money during the legislative session after she said doing so would be a conflict of interest.
All Voters More Likely 9%
All Voters Less Likely 67%
GOP Voters More Likely 12%
GOP Voters Less Likely 54%

Bachmann did not pay payroll taxes on her current campaign staff as required by law.
All Voters More Likely 5%
All Voters Less Likely 75%
GOP Voters More Likely 7%
GOP Voters Less Likely 64%

There is one last thing to point out here. The GOP voters were on average 5% more likely to than the general voters to support Bachmann even though Bachmann has some questionable votes and ethics. There were also on average 10% more accepting of Bachmann with her issues (taken from the 10% average lower rating on the "Less Likely" answers). Easily this supports my contention that some GOP members are treating her with a party over principles mentality.