Michele Bachmann benefits from being introduced to a national audience during this week’s Republican presidential debate, with her home-state of Minnesota Net Favorability improving and her numbers in a head-to-head matchup against President Barack Obama improving, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for KSTP-TV in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Bachmann’s Net Favorability today is Minus 19, still underwater, but a 9-point improvement from SurveyUSA’s last Minnesota poll 3 weeks ago. Bachmann’s favorability rating jumped 20 points, from 44% to 64%, among Minnesota’s Republicans. See this interactive tracking graph, a SurveyUSA exclusive. Today, Obama defeats Bachmann in MN by 14 points in a hypothetical election for president, an 11-point improvement for Bachmann from 3 weeks ago. Then, 27% said Bachmann was qualified to be president, now 35% say she is qualified.

The national stage helped former Governor Tim Pawlenty by one measure, but not by others. Compared to 3 weeks ago, when Pawlenty announced he was running for president, Pawlenty’s Net Favorability in MN is unchanged at Minus 3. Today, 53% see Pawlenty as qualified to be president, largely unchanged from the 55% who saw Pawlenty as qualified 3 weeks ago. But in a head-to-head, Pawlenty and Obama tie today. 3 weeks ago, Obama carried the state by 5 points. When all registered voters are asked who would make the best Republican nominee, Pawlenty finishes 2nd behind Mitt Romney, with Ron Paul and Bachmann tied for 3rd place. When just answers from MN Republicans are examined, Pawlenty finishes 1st, with Romney and Bachmann tied for 2nd.

Consistent with SurveyUSA’s most recent poll, Minnesotans say that if the state government shuts down, responsibility should fall equally on the Governor, DFL legislators, and Republican legislators. 43% disapprove of the job Governor Mark Dayton is doing. 65% disapprove of the job the state legislature is doing. Overwhelmingly, residents want the state to spend less, even if it means cutting state services. But residents are divided over how much less the state should spend. About half say the budget should be cut by 7% or more. If Governor Dayton calls a special session of the legislature to work on the state budget, residents by 2:1 do not want financing a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings football team to be part of the special session debate.