Poll: Franken overtakes Coleman in Minn.

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Democratic Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken has jumped past incumbent Norm Coleman in the wake the Republican's harsh attack ads, a poll indicates.

The Star Tribune Minnesota Poll indicated Franken has taken a 43 percent to 34 percent lead over Coleman, with independent candidate Dean Barkley garnering a significant 18 percent, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Saturday.

Franken, the former "Saturday Night Live" writer and performer, had trailed Coleman in most polls until recently. The poll's authors said Barkley, who once ran former Gov. Jesse Ventura's successful independent gubernatorial campaign, is siphoning more support away from Coleman than from Franken.

The pollsters also cited backlash against a series of harshly negative television ads from the Republican National Committee that have painted Franken as unstable and a pornographer. The survey indicated that 56 percent consider the ads to be "mostly unfair personal attacks" while only 42 percent said the same about ads criticizing Coleman.

The survey was conducted Tuesday through Thursday by Princeton Survey Research Associates International among 1,084 likely Minnesota voters. The margin error was 3.7 percent.