Could Democratic Senator Mark Dayton be in trouble? CQ Today's Midday Update (free email service) reports:

The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE reports, "Minnesota Sens. Mark Dayton and Norm Coleman both took hits to their public image in the past year, with their job approval ratings falling below 50 percent, according to the latest Minnesota Poll. Dayton, a Democrat who's up for reelection next year, took the heaviest blow: His approval rating declined by 15 points in a year, from 58 percent to 43 percent. The approval rating for Coleman, who just began his third year in office, fell by 7 points, from 54 to 47 percent." That is a "sharp turnaround for both senators, who had healthy increases in their approval ratings the last time their performance was measured in a Minnesota Poll, in January 2004."

[The original article can be found here].

Dayton needs to start raising his profile in the state and more importantly begin to bring in substantial campaign funds. The Gopher State may have gone for John Kerry in 2004, but the margin was not large enough to call this an easy win for Dayton. If you want to give the Senator support, visit MarkDayton.org.