According to the most recent Marquette Law School poll released Wednesday, presumptive Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton has taken the lead in Wisconsin.
Among the registered voters polled, 42 percent support Clinton, while 35 percent support Donald Trump. Compared to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, 57 percent of registered voters support Sanders while 33 percent support Trump. But the poll still indicated many believe Clinton would likely be the Democratic nominee.
The last Marquette poll, conducted in March, indicated Wisconsin voters were more likely to vote Republican, but the most recent poll shows otherwise.
According to the newly released poll, Democrats have gained popularity by two points, while Republicans have lost by one. In March, the poll showed 47 percent supported Clinton and 45 percent supported Sanders on the Democratic side. On the Republican side, 37 percent of voters supported Trump.
Among candidates for the Wisconsin Senate race, support for Democratic challenger former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, increased to 51 percent from 47 percent since March. Support for U.S Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, has remained the same at 42 percent.
Johnson ended Feingold’s 18-year Senate tenure when he won the seat in 2010.
Marquette poll director Charles Franklin said in a Marquette Law School video the “substantial” shift in the number of voters along partisan lines accounts for stronger Democratic support. Seventy-eight percent of Republicans said they are certain to vote in the November election, which is a 9 percent decrease since March. On the Democratic side, 84 percent said they will certainly vote, which is a three percent increase since March.
Since the last poll, two Republican candidates dropped out of the presidential race — Ohio Gov. John Kasich and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Poll shows more Wisconsinites likely to vote Republican than Democrat
But 17 percent of registered voters in the state indicated they would vote neither Trump nor Clinton.
Fifty-eight percent of registered voters view Clinton unfavorably while 64 percent view Trump unfavorably. Franklin said this represents a majority of Wisconsin’s registered voters. Sanders is the most favorable among all candidates with only 36 percent calling him unfavorable.
More voters also consider Clinton more qualified to be president than Trump. Thirty percent believe Trump is qualified, compared to Clinton’s 56 percent.
Poll shows Trump still in lead in Wisconsin, but race tightens for Democrats
Franklin said many of Sanders’ supporters remain reluctant to vote for Clinton should she become the Democratic nominee, which could be a problem within the Democratic party.
On the Republican side, 52 percent view Trump favorably while 35 percent view him unfavorably. Franklin said it is “historically bad” to have such a high percentage view their party’s nominee this way.
Gov. Scott Walker’s approval rating decreased to 39 percent from 43 percent in March. His disapproval rating increased 4 percentage points to 57 percent in the current poll.