ST. PAUL — A new poll shows far more Minnesota voters know Democratic Sen. Tina Smith than Republican state Sen. Karin Housley as they compete for a Senate seat in the spotlight.

Smith got a boost in name recognition when the then-lieutenant governor was appointed to replace former Sen. Al Franken following his resignation in January. Housley jumped into the race soon after Franken announced in December he would step down following a string of sexual misconduct allegations.

A Suffolk University poll released Wednesday shows just 13 percent of voters don’t know who Smith is, while more than 31 percent were unaware of Housley.

The poll surveyed 500 likely voters between Aug. 17 and Aug. 20 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.