After Gov. Scott Walker’s short-lived presidential campaign, findings from a Marquette Law School Poll reflect a 59 percent disapproval rating of Walker’s job performance, a 2 percent increase since August among Wisconsin voters.
The poll, which was released Wednesday, also shows a 37 percent approval rating, a 2 percent decrease since August, for Walker. While only 35 percent of all poll respondents said they want Walker to run for governor in 2018, 79 percent of Republicans polled support a third gubernatorial campaign by Walker.
Donald Trump jumped from 9 percent of Wisconsin voters’ support in August to 20 percent, earning himself first place among state Republicans. Ben Carson’s support from Republican voters increased by 3 percent since August and placed him in second place with 16 percent of support.
Like Trump, Marco Rubio gained double the support of Wisconsin Republican voters when Walker dropped out, jumping from 7 percent to 14 percent and landing in third place. Carly Florina increased from 7 percent of Republican support last month to 11 percent and holds fourth place.
The poll reports that Trump has 22 percent of support, Rubio has 14 percent, Carson 11 percent and Cruz 10 percent from Wisconsinites who would have voted for Walker if he had not dropped out.
There was not as much change in Democratic support this month as there was among Republican voters. While Hillary Clinton still holds first place and Bernie Sanders second, both lost 2 percent of support. Clinton currently has 42 percent of support and Sanders has 30 percent. Joe Biden’s support increased by 5 percent from 12 percent to 17 percent and placed him in third among Democratic voters.
Martin O’Malley is the only other Democratic candidate to register 1 percent of support while all other candidates fall below 1 percent. O’Malley fell below 1 percent last month.
Democrat Russ Feingold receives 50 percent of support from registered voters, a three percent increase since the August poll, in the U.S. Senate race. Republican incumbent Ron Johnson holds 36 percent of support, a 6 percent drop. Feingold now holds a stronger lead than he did last month and almost returns to his April lead of 54 percent to Johnson’s 38 percent.
While Johnson achieves a 27 percent favorable rating, Feingold holds a 42 percent favorable rating.
The poll found that perceptions of Wisconsin’s economy have shifted negatively from 2014. While 24 percent believe the economy has improved, 27 percent think it has worsened and 47 percent fell no change so far in 2015. These ratings are compared to 30 percent who believed it improved, 29 percent who believed it had worsened and 41 percent who believed it had not changed in 2014.
While Wisconsinites feel negatively about the direction of the economy, they feel positively toward Pope Francis. He rose in favorable ratings by 15 percent since August to 66 percent. The increase aligns with a 15 percent decrease in unfavorable ratings from 36 percent in August to 21 percent.
According to a statement released by The Marquette Law School Poll, it interviewed 803 registered Wisconsin voters over the phone from September 24-28, making it the largest polling project in state history.
