A recent Marquette University Law School poll found that approval ratings for incumbents in different offices and parties are down as officials head into midterm elections, and Gov. Tony Evers is no exception.
The poll found that Evers’ job approval rating is 45%, while 46% disapprove. This is down from his approval rating of 51% in Feb. 2020. While 42% of respondents view him favorably, 45% view him unfavorably.
University of Wisconsin political science expert on elections Barry Burden noted that in general, the public is dissatisfied with most people in office and that this is a disadvantage Evers will face going into the gubernatorial election this fall.
Many Wisconsin residents are frustrated with Evers’ handling of COVID-19 policies, gas prices, the economy and the Jacob Blake shooting — all frustrations which Republicans are using as campaign strategies, Burden said.
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Only 40% of respondents to the Marquette poll said they would vote for Evers.
Burden said the main advantage that Evers holds in the election is that he is the current governor and he will not have any problems with finances. Burden also said the Republican candidates are focused mostly on each other right now, rather than attacking Evers’ policies.
Burden said most of Evers’ time in office has consisted of him battling the Republican legislature which has not allowed him to do much.
“He doesn’t have a laundry list of legislative achievements, because of the Republican Legislature,” Charles Franklin, the director of the Marquette University Law School poll said on NBC News.
Evers has emphasized the two tax budgets he signed to incentivize voters. These budgets cut taxes for those in the middle class, according to AP News.
AP News also reported Evers is strategizing his campaign on the Republican party’s push to undermine the 2020 election by arguing they are radical extremists.
One of the three Republican candidates — Timothy Ramthun, a member of the Wisconsin Assembly — is advocating for a 2020 election recall, according to Burden.
Burden called Ramthun a “rogue figure in the party,” and does not think he is the favorite, but said he will probably draw some votes from the more radical side of the party.
The leading Republican candidate right now is former GOP Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, according to NBC News. Kleefisch’s campaign is mostly focused on attacking how Evers handled the Kenosha shooting, NBC News said. Her campaign video released in September detailed the rise in crime in Wisconsin and how Evers did not respond adequately to the shooting.
Kleefisch said in her video that she did not feel Evers cared enough about the people of Wisconsin based on his response to the shooting.
Kevin Nicholson, a former marine who has never held office, is another Republican candidate. He is very critical of anyone in office and fits more into the Trump mold of the party, according to Burden. Nicholson heavily criticized Kleefisch’s campaign as well, Burden said.
Evers will be in an uphill battle for reelection this year based on polls and history, according to AP News —Evers beat Walker by less than 30,000 votes in 2018, and the candidate from the president’s party has lost in the past eight gubernatorial races in Wisconsin.
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Burden also noted the Senate election between incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson and the Democratic leader Mandela Barnes will be important to watch in conjunction with the gubernatorial race because he believes they will probably have the same outcome with regards to which party leads.
“Those two races are gonna interact in ways I can’t predict,” Burden said.
