Complete breakdown of the results

 Poll methodology

 Reaction to the new poll from Coleman, Franken

It’s already expected to be one of the most watched Senate races in the entire country.

But now, fresh poll results show that possible new entries into Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race could change everything.

As it stands, Republican-endorsed Sen. Norm Coleman is set to take on DFL-endorsed candidate Al Franken.

However, the resurgence of an article that Franken wrote for Playboy Magazine in 2000 and an off-color joke that he made as a writer for Saturday Night Live in 1995 have hurt Franken’s image over the last month.

Many have speculated that attorney Mike Ciresi, who dropped out of the DFL race several months ago, will re-enter and try to capitalize on Franken’s stumbles.

Plus, political circles have been buzzing with the possibility of an Independent candidate entering the race. Names mentioned include former Gov. Jesse Ventura or former Sen. Dean Barkley, who served out the remaining days of Sen. Paul Wellstone’s term after he died in a plane crash shortly before the 2002 election.

So, what if?

A new statewide 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS/SURVEY USA poll looks at all of the possibilities:

As it stands

If no other candidates entered the race, Coleman still holds a substantial lead over Franken. The newest poll shows that Coleman would receive 52 percent of the vote and Franken would receive 40 percent

The margin of error (MOE) in this poll is +/- 4.0 percent.

In the complete breakdown of this poll, the most notable statistic is that Coleman has shored up the support of 89 percent of Republican voters while Franken has 71 percent of DFL support.

The ‘Ventura Factor’
Ventura is the most likely to shake up the race if he enters, according to the new polling information.

In a three-way race between Coleman, Franken and Ventura, Coleman would get 41 percent, Franken would get 31 percent and Ventura would pull in 23 percent of the vote (MOE: +/- 4.1 percent).

A week before Ventura was elected governor in 1998, Ventura was polling between 21 and 27 percent in statewide polls. He eventually won the election vs. Coleman and Skip Humphrey with 37 percent of the vote.

If Ciresi replaces Franken, Coleman remains at 41 percent, Ciresi gets 28 percent and Ventura jumps up to 26 percent (MOE: +/- 4.1 percent).

Barkley and Ciresi

The new poll shows that Barkley and Ciresi would have far less of an impact on the race.

Head-to-head against Coleman, Ciresi garners about the same as Franken with 40 percent of the vote and Coleman drops a sliver to 50 percent (MOE: +/- 4.1 percent).

Against Coleman and Franken, Barkley pulls in only 8 percent of the vote to Ventura’s 23 percent. When Ciresi replaces Franken on the ballot, Barkley goes down to 6 percent (MOE: +/- 4.1 percent).

Much more information on these latest poll results are available by clicking the ‘Complete breakdown of the results' link below, including statistical breakdowns by age, gender, race and party affiliation.

 Complete breakdown of the results

 Poll methodology