MU Law poll: 61% of Wisconsin voters think US, Iran will avoid major military conflict

MILWAUKEE -- President Donald Trump's support in Wisconsin showed little signs of change in the Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday, Jan. 15 with more respondents against removing him from office than those who want to see him ousted after the House voted to impeach.

Voters are nearly evenly divided over whether President  Trump is doing a good job or not, the first poll of the 2020 election year showed. President Trump continued to get high marks from voters in his handling of the economy, while he had lower ratings on his approach to foreign policy. The poll was conducted Jan. 8 through Sunday, Jan. 12, just after President Trump ordered an attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

The poll was conducted after the Democratic-controlled House voted to impeach President Trump, alleging abuse of power over his pressure on Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, using military aid to the country as leverage. President Trump was also charged with obstructing Congress’ ensuing probe.

When asked if the Senate should vote to convict President Trump and remove him from office, 44% said he should be removed while 49% said he should be acquitted.

Voters were even more evenly divided when asked whether they approved with the Democratic-controlled House voting to impeach President Trump. Approval for the impeachment vote was at 47%, while 49% disapproved.

There was also a close split on whether President Trump did something “seriously wrong” in his dealings with Ukraine. While 37% said he did nothing wrong, 40% said he did something seriously wrong.

“It seems pretty clear people have made up their minds," said pollster Charles Franklin.

President Trump's job approval rating in January was 48%, with 49% disapproving. In December, 47% approved and 50% disapproved. His job approval rating over the past year has had no significant change, Franklin said.

Likewise, his handling of the economy has been generally positive with 55% in support and 42% disapproving in the latest poll. Those numbers have been fairly stable and consistently a strength for President Trump, Franklin said.

The poll also found little movement among Democratic candidates in the presidential race, as voting looms first in Iowa in the Feb. 3 caucuses.

Among Democratic candidates, Biden maintained his lead with 23% support, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont at 19% and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 15%. None of those were changed from December. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts had 14% support, with 9% saying they don't know who they support.

“It's been a strikingly stable contest during the fall here," Franklin said.

The margin of error in the poll of Wisconsin voters when asking only about the Democratic candidates was 6.3 percentage points. For questions going to all 800 registered voters polled, the margin of error was 4.1 percentage points.

On the attack that killed Soleimani, the poll found that 61% believed that the U.S. and Iran were likely to avoid a serious conflict while 30% said they thought it would become more serious.

When asked if it's about time the U.S. “struck back” at Iran, 43% said yes and 51% said no.

On foreign policy, 44% said they approved of the job President Trump was doing while 53% disapproved. That compares with 43% in support in December and 54% against.

CLICK HERE to view the detailed results of the Marquette Law Poll