Poll: Only 22 percent of Minnesotans say Franken should stay in office

Just 22 percent of Minnesotans in a new survey say Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) should stay in office.

A KSTP/SurveyUSA poll finds in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against Franken, only 22 percent of Minnesotans think he should remain in his post, compared to 33 percent who say he should resign.

Another 36 percent think he should wait to see what comes from a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into his behavior.

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Of Republicans surveyed, only 12 percent think Franken should remain in office, compared to 61 percent who say he should resign.

A larger percentage of the polled Democrats think Franken should stay, with 34 percent saying he should remain in office and 14 percent saying he should resign. Forty-six percent of Democrats think he should wait for the results of an ethics investigation.

Just 32 percent of respondents say Franken can be an “effective” senator if he remains in office. Another 37 percent say he would be an “ineffective” senator and 32 percent aren’t sure.

Franken’s approval rating in Minnesota has also dropped. Thirty-six percent of respondents approve of the job Franken is doing, compared with 53 percent who approved of the Minnesota Democrat in November 2016.

The survey was taken from Nov. 20-21 among 600 Minnesotans. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

A radio host last week accused Franken of kissing and groping her without her consent while on a USO tour in 2006.

Earlier this week, a CNN report said another woman accused Franken of inappropriately grabbing her during a photo op in 2010.

Franken has apologized for his actions.

Since the allegations, multiple lawmakers have called for an ethics investigation into Franken’s behavior, a move which Franken has said he supports.