Recent polling data from the Marquette Law School indicates Gov. Scott Walker has maintained his lead over Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke since results for the previous poll were released in January.
In the poll released Wednesday, 48 percent of respondents said they would vote for Walker, while 41 percent said they would vote for Burke.
Walker’s approval rating remained evenly split, with 47 percent of those polled saying they approve of Walker’s performance and 47 percent saying they disapprove.
Similarly, opinions on whether the economy improved or worsened over the past year remained evenly divided; 27 percent said the economy has gotten better, 27 percent said it has worsened and 44 percent said it has remained the same. A significant number of respondents said they believe the state of the economy will remain the same over this year.
The poll also gauged opinions on a variety of legislative issues including the legalization of marijuana, early voting, voter ID laws and same-sex marriage.
While legal marijuana industries have kicked off in Washington and Colorado, a slight majority of respondents said the drug should remain illegal in Wisconsin.
Respondents also voted in favor of early voting; 39 percent of respondents said they supported allowing three weeks prior to an election for early absentee voting, while 20 percent said they favored eliminating early voting entirely. Walker signed a bill Thursday mandating early absentee ballots filed in person must be submitted by the third Monday before the election.
Additionally, the majority of those polled said they favored requiring a photo ID to vote; 60 percent responded in favor of the policy while 36 percent responded negatively.
Roughly half of respondents favored marriage for same-sex couples, while 24 percent said they preferred to offer civil unions and another 24 percent responded in favor of no legal recognition for gay couples.
The Marquette Law School Poll surveyed 801 Wisconsin residents via cell phone and landline to gauge opinions on political figures and elections as well as a variety of legislative and judicial issues. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percent.