President Barack Obama has a nearly 50 percent approval rating in Minnesota and he leads all four of the Republican presidential candidates by 10 or more points, according to a survey from Public Policy Polling.

Obama leads Mitt Romney by 10 points (51-41), according to the poll. The margin is even larger for Newt Gingrich (54-39), Rick Santorum (52-40) and Ron Paul (51-38). Forty-nine percent of the poll’s respondents said they approve of the job Obama is doing as president, including 63 percent of self-described moderates.

Among Republican caucus-goers, Gingrich has a large but unstable lead over the other three candidates, but he does far worse with general election voters. Sixty percent of respondents view him negatively, according to the poll, the highest figure of any Republican. In a head-to-head contest with Obama, 71 percent of moderates would vote for Obama and only 19 would choose Gingrich, the worst margin for any Republican.

Obama’s numbers are very good in the state, and PPP notes: “Even with Romney as the nominee, it’s beyond me why anyone lists Minnesota in even the ‘lean Democrat’ column.  It hasn’t gone red for president since Nixon’s 1972 landslide over McGovern, and even if Romney closes a few points by the fall, Obama’s still not remotely in trouble in this state.”