Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama remains ten points ahead of the Republican John McCain in the state, according to a University of Wisconsin Badger Poll released Friday.
The poll released by the UW Survey Center found 52 percent of likely voters favor Obama compared to 42 percent for McCain.
The poll also asked about the favorability of the vice presidential candidates; 45 percent had a favorable impression of Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, and 32 percent had a favorable impression of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
In addition to asking about the presidential race, the poll also included questions about the state of health care and economy in Wisconsin.
According to the poll, only 21 percent of Wisconsinites are satisfied with the current health care system in the state today.
Forty three percent of respondents also felt the economy was the most important issue facing the state, with 42 percent of people polled believing the nation’s economy will get worse in the next 12 months.
Despite these numbers and several other polls that would seem to support the survey’s finding, neither campaign believes Obama has run away with the election in Wisconsin just yet.
Both the Obama and McCain camps are mobilizing a large amount volunteers in the final hours before the election. Lehrich described the Obama campaign’s mobilization of volunteers as “perhaps the biggest get out the vote effort in the history of the state.”
Matt Lehrich, spokesperson for Obama’s Wisconsin campaign, also said the race in Wisconsin may defy the recent poll numbers.
“Historically, Wisconsin has been a battleground state,” Lehrich said. “We’re in a strong position to win, but it will definitely be very close, and we’re not taking anything for granted.”
Kirsten Kukowski, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, attributed the smaller difference in likely voters supporting McCain as opposed to all adults voting McCain to a better understanding of the topics related to the election.
“Likely voters are more connected to the issues,” she said. “I think that influenced the fact that fewer likely voters are supporting Obama than all adults surveyed.”
Kukowski said the poll’s numbers do not accurately reflect what she believes to be the real public opinion in the state.
“I don’t think this poll is worth anything at all,” Kukowski said. “We’ve seen other polls go in the opposite direction.”
Kukowski cited recent polls that placed McCain within two points of Obama in Wisconsin and felt concerns about Obama’s credentials will continue to lift McCain’s poll numbers.
“Questions about readiness and credibility have really resonated with voters,” she said. “That, in addition to the ‘Joe the Plumber’ controversy, and I think we have every reason to believe it’s going to be as close this year as it was in 2004.”
In 2004, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry won the state by less than 1 percent of the vote.
Kukowski said state Republicans are also mobilizing their resources in the home stretch of the campaign, including busing in volunteers from other non-battleground states to help get out the vote in Wisconsin.
