Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison's lead slips away in Minnesota attorney general race, poll finds

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) has lost quite a bit of ground in his race to become Minnesota's attorney general.

A Star Tribune/MPR News Minnesota poll published Tuesday found that Ellison's Republican opponent, attorney Doug Wardlow, is now in the lead among likely voters, with 43 percent support to Ellison's 36 percent. This is a major 12-point shift from a poll conducted last month, in which Ellison led Wardlow by five points.

In recent weeks, Ellison's campaign has largely been overtaken by talk of abuse allegations. Ellison's ex-girlfriend, Karen Monahan, has accused him of emotional and physical abuse, including once screaming at her while trying to drag her off a bed, reports The New York Times. In 2005, Ellison's ex-girlfriend, Amy Alexander, sought a restraining order against him and alleged he pushed her and verbally abused her, the Star Tribune reports. Ellison has denied both allegations. An investigation conducted by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party could not substantiate Monahan's claims because she would not provide video evidence that she says she has, reports Time. Monahan says she misplaced the video, CNN reports.

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This new poll found that about 50 percent of respondents aren't sure whether to believe Ellison or Monahan. But more voters believe her now than in September: 30 percent believe her allegations, compared to 21 percent last month.

The Star Tribune/MPR News poll interviewed 800 likely voters in Minnesota Oct. 15-17. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.