By Allison Sherry

Minneapolis Star Tribune

WASHINGTON — Minnesota voters are split over whether GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump was right to raise concerns about the election being rigged against him, according to a new Star Tribune Minnesota poll.

Statewide, 47 percent of those polled think Trump was wrong to question the legitimacy of the U.S. election system and 43 percent think his criticism is on target.

The poll surveyed 625 likely Minnesota voters who were interviewed Oct. 20-22 by landline and cellphones. The poll’s margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The divide on the question widened by geography: 59 percent of those in Minnesota’s most populous counties of Hennepin and Ramsey said they consider Trump’s ongoing comments about the possible illegitimacy of the looming vote off base. But more than half — 52 percent — in outstate Minnesota said they think he is right to raise such concerns. Those in metro area suburbs were split, with 48 percent saying Trump is right to question the election, but 47 percent saying he is not.

Trump has drawn criticism from leaders of both parties for making claims that the election is being rigged against him, which has intensified in recent weeks as national polls show him trailing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. But allies of Trump have expressed concern about voter fraud, particularly by undocumented immigrants, that could help Democrats.