CBS News Poll: Biden Up 9 Points Ahead Of Trump In Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A new CBS battleground tracker poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden with a nine point lead over President Donald Trump in Minnesota.

The lead shows a substantial improvement over Democrats' 2016 performance with college-educated white women. Currently, Biden is 13 points above Hillary Clinton's performance in 2016.

Of the college-educated white women, 61% say they are voting for Biden mainly in opposition to Trump. And 83% of them dislike how the president handles himself personally.

As Biden gains the advantage over Trump with white women in particular, it becomes more difficult for the president to win this state, which has voted for Democratic candidates every election since 1976.

However, white non-college voters believe Trump to be better on energy exploration, and by large margins on manufacturing, agriculture, farming, and small business. They say Biden pays more attention to Black voters than those of white voters. Though it still might not be enough of an edge, as Trump's margin with the group is not as pronounced (at 15-plus points) as it was in 2016 against Clinton (27-plus points).

Republicans and Democrats also differ on their views on protests and the fight for racial justice. While 62% of Democrats in Minnesota believe police reform is a better way to end protests, just 34% of Republicans agree with that claim; instead, 51% of Republicans believe police should punish protestors in order to quell the protests.

They also view the goals of the protests differently, with 93% of Democrats thinking they raise awareness of racial discrimination, while 86% of Republicans believe they simply destroy property.

The CBS News poll also took a look at Arizona, which is increasingly turning Democratic, with most of the concerns caused by Trump's COVID-19 policies.