Rep. Keith Ellison lost his lead over Republican Doug Wardlow in Minnesota’s attorney general race, according to a new poll released Tuesday.
The latest Star Tribune/MPR News Minnesota poll shows that 43 percent of likely voters would back Mr. Wardlow over Mr. Ellison, who only had 36 percent of voters’ support.
This is a sharp turnaround for the special election, as the poll numbers for the two candidates essentially flipped in just one month.
Mr. Wardlow climbed 7 percentage points over the Democratic congressman since September. Mr. Ellison, on the other hand, fell 5 percentage points in the same time period.
The change in poll performance came after abuse allegations against Mr. Ellison were brought back into the race during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh.
The Democrat was accused by his ex-girlfriend Karen Monahan of “emotional and physical abuse.” Mr. Ellison denied the allegations.
More voters grew to believe Ms. Monahan since the September poll, with 30 percent now supporting her claims.
Notably, the latest poll was conducted from Oct. 15 -17, before Mr. Ellison’s divorce records were unsealed.
Two news outlets succeeded in petitioning a Minnesota court to release the documents on Oct. 17, which contain allegations of abuse against Kim Ellison, but not her ex-husband.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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