A recent poll, “We the People-Wisconsin,” conducted by Research 2000 of Rockville, Md., shows Democrat Jim Doyle with a lead in the gubernatorial election.

University of Wisconsin political science professor David Canon said the poll results are consistent with other recent polls, with a few minor differences.

“Basically, the results are very consistent with other polls within the seven- to 10-digit range,” he said. “The one thing that is different is that the number of undecided voters is down to about 10 percent.”

The telephone survey of 600 likely voters was conducted Oct. 4-7 and revealed that 44 percent of respondents would vote for Jim Doyle and 37 percent for the incumbent, Republican Governor Scott McCallum, “if the election were held today.”

Canon said the study showed no changes in poll numbers for Libertarian candidate Ed Thompson, who received 6 percent of support from those polled.

“Another notable change is the very high unfavorable numbers for McCallum,” he said. “Forty percent of those polled have an unfavorable view of him, while 33 percent have a favorable opinion, and this is very serious for an incumbent governor.”

Canon speculated that some of the unfavorable opinions of McCallum could be from budget problems and also from news stories that were published during the week the poll was taken.

However, Canon said McCallum cannot be blamed entirely for the state’s budget deficit.

“These are problems that he inherited from past leadership,” Canon said. “A structural deficit was looming.”

Canon said McCallum did not show much leadership in working out a compromise after his own budget bill was nullified.

Doyle’s campaign was understandably excited about the latest poll numbers, said Doyle campaign director Bill Christofferson.

“All three polls taken since the primary say the same things: Jim Doyle has a clear lead, which is unusual for a challenger,” Christofferson said.