New Marquette Law School poll takes pulse of Wisconsin voters

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A new Marquette University Law School poll was released on Tuesday afternoon, October 29th.

The poll indicates 70 percent of voters say they don't know enough about Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke yet to have an opinion, good or bad. 17 percent say they had a favorable opinion of Burke; 14 percent unfavorable.

Close to everyone polled knows Gov. Scott Walker. The poll shows he has a 50 percent favorable rating, 46 percent unfavorable, and only four percent of respondents have no opinion.

When asked to rate Gov. Walker's job performance, the MU Law School poll shows 49 percent of respondents approve and 47 percent disapprove. That's little change from a similar poll in July.

In a head-to-head governor's race, the MU Law School poll shows Gov. Walker would edge Burke, 47 percent to 45 percent. Gov. Walker would also beat Democrats Kathleen Vinehout and Peter Barca in head-to-head races.

Poll director Charles Franklin says given the low knowledge of Democratic candidates in Wisconsin, the close head-to-head numbers reflect partisan divisions in the state. Not surprisingly, Republicans overwhelmingly support Gov. Walker (94 percent) and Democrats overwhelmingly favor Burke (88 percent).

The MU Law School poll asked respondents how Wisconsin is doing about adding jobs. 41 percent say the state is lagging behind other states, 37 percent say it's on par with others, and 14 percent say Wisconsin is doing better than others. Compared to July, there is a more positive view overall in how people think Wisconsin's job creation record compares to other states.

Statewide, 32 percent of respondents expect the economy to improve in the next 12 months, 29 percent think it'll get worse, and 36 percent expect no change.

As for the new $100 million property tax relief passed by the State Legislature, 56 percent favor it, 36 percent are opposed.

Respondents were asked about the Legislature's vote to end residency requirements for municipal employees in Wisconsin. 45 percent favor the action and 49 percent oppose it.

As for the proposed Kenosha casino, 41 percent of respondents support the idea, 38 percent oppose it and 19 percent are undecided statewide.

On the presidential front, the MU Law School poll shows Scott Walker is the first choice for 2016 Republican presidential nomination among Wisconsin Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Congressman Paul Ryan is a close second.

Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton dominates the 2016 presidential race. In a head-to-head vote now, Clinton leads all Republicans. In a Clinton-Walker battle, Clinton would edge Walker 53 percent to 41 percent. A similar result is seen in a Clinton-Ryan fight.

This latest MU Law School poll included 800 registered Wisconsin voters reached by landline or cell phone between October 21st and October 24th. The margin of error is 3.5 percent on questions involving the full sample. For full results in the MU Law School poll, CLICK HERE.