Minnesota is likely to host one of the more interesting and competitive Senate races in Election 2008.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone poll of the race shows incumbent Senator Norm Coleman (R) attracting just 46% support from voters and holding very modest leads over two Democrats seeking his job.

Coleman, a freshman Senator, leads comedian Al Franken (D) 46% to 41%. Coleman’s level of support is unchanged from our previous poll, conducted in March. In that earlier poll, Coleman led Franken 46% to 36%.

The current poll also finds Coleman leading Minneapolis attorney Mike Ciresi 46% to 42%. Ciresi has never held office before, but narrowly missed winning the party nomination for the U.S. Senate in Election 2000.

The demographic breakdowns are very similar regardless of which Democrat is mentioned in the poll. This suggests that attitudes towards Coleman remain the defining characteristic of the race. Incumbents who poll below the 50% level early in a campaign are generally considered vulnerable and Coleman definitely falls into that category.

Coleman, though, is still viewed favorably by 54% of Minnesota voters. That’s up slightly from 51% in March. Forty-six percent (46%) have an unfavorable view of their Senator.

Franken is now viewed favorably by 46% of Minnesota voters and unfavorably by 47%. That’s an improvement from March when just 39% offered a positive assessment of the new candidate.

Ciresi’s numbers are 40% favorable and 43% unfavorable.

However, opinions about Ciresi are less firm than those for either Coleman or Franken. Just 17% have a Very Unfavorable opinion of Ciresi. Twenty-four percent (24%) have a Very Unfavorable opinion of Coleman and 31% have a similar opinion about Franken.

Coleman is a freshman Senator who won his seat in 2002 by just two percentage points. He replaced Paul Wellstone (D) in the Senate. Wellstone died in a plane crash near the end of the 2002 election and was replaced on the ballot by former Vice President Walter Mondale. Coleman was recruited heavily by the Bush team in 2002 but has distanced himself from the Administration lately.

Coleman isn’t helped by the fact that just 33% of Minnesota voters say President Bush is doing a good or excellent job. Fifty-two percent (52%) say the President is doing a poor job.

In the race for Minnesota’s Electoral College votes, Senator Hillary Clinton has a double digit lead over three leading Republican hopefuls. Clinton is the solid frontrunner in the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. Giuliani and Thompson top the GOP Presidential contest.

Minnesota voters remain resistant to tax increases but want their legislature to have a special session to deal with transportation issues and flood relief.

The survey was conducted in partnership with Fox Television Stations, Inc.

Surveys were released today for the Presidential race in Virginia, Minnesota, and Massachusetts along with Senate race polls for Virginia and Minnesota.

Rasmussen Reports has also released Election 2008 state polling results in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Ohio, Florida, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oregon, Colorado, New Hampshire, New York and Illinois.

In Primary Polls, Clinton leads all Democrats in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida.

See survey questions and top-line results. Crosstabs available for Premium Members only.