MN 2024 Viewpoints: Minnesota's 2024 Political Concerns
Welcome back to Rapp Strategies’ and Morris Leatherman’s MN 2024 Viewpoints series. Today, we are answering the question: What do Minnesotans consider the biggest challenges facing the state and the nation?
Our statewide survey tested eleven different concerns, ranging from traditional political issues such as crime, the economy and taxes, to more recent issues like the conflict in the Middle East and curriculum in public schools. Respondents were asked to indicate whether they thought each was an extremely serious, very serious, somewhat serious, or not at all a serious concern. The table below demonstrates the overall responses.
If a respondent thinks an issue is at least “very serious”, it likely means they are paying attention to that issue, while “extremely serious” suggests the issue may decide how they vote.
Growth in the national debt, violent crime, inflation, and the cost of everyday goods therefore were Minnesotans’ top concerns heading into 2024. National debt has been an ever-present issue, but the strong concern about violent crime persists despite reported declines in violent crime in the Twin Cities and across the state.
While issues like abortion and racial equity may appear less important at first glance, roughly half of those who say each is a concern believe it to be “extremely serious.” These respondents are more likely to be voters who focus carefully these issues and could impact swing legislative districts.
Perhaps the most important finding is that Minnesota residents appear to be watching economic issues very closely, especially Republicans and Independents.
Prioritization of concerns was consistent between men and women except for education quality and abortion. Women were significantly more likely to believe each were “extremely serious” concerns than men.
Stay tuned for the next installment of our MN 2024 Viewpoints series on Monday, where we’ll dive deeper into the interplay between financial stress, inflation, and the economic confidence of Minnesota’s voters.
Have questions about our findings or want to learn more about how Rapp Strategies and The Morris Leatherman Company can elevate the public affairs strategy of your organization? Get in touch at info@rappstrategies.com.
Results are based on Rapp Strategies and The Morris Leatherman Company’s statewide survey, conducted December 8-20, 2023. The study contains the results of a random sample of 800 randomly selected adult residents in the State of Minnesota, interviewed via telephone. Cell phone-only households were 54% of the sample, while landline-only households were 9%. Results of the sample reflect the entire population of Minnesota based on census data. Results were not reweighted, and are projectable to all Minnesotans with a margin of error of ±3.5% in 95 out of 100 cases.