Marquette University Law School Poll released a new statewide poll on Wednesday, June 28th. Below, please find a summary of the survey’s results.
Quick Hits on the Poll
President Joe Biden Favorability -9%
- Favorability 45% (Was 42% in October poll)
- Unfavorability 54% (Was 53% in October poll)
President Joe Biden Job Approval -8%
- Approve 45% (Was 41% in October poll)
- Disapprove 53% (Was 54% in October poll)
Governor Tony Evers Favorability +13%
- Favorability 52% (Was 46% in October poll)
- Unfavorability 39% (Was 47% in October poll)
- Haven’t heard enough 8%
Governor Tony Evers Job Approval +18%
- 57% Approve (Was 46% in October poll)
- 39% Disapprove (Was 47% in October poll)
Senator Ron Johnson Favorability -13%
- Favorability 37% (Was 43% in October poll)
- Unfavorability 50% (Was 46% in October poll)
- Haven’t heard enough 12%
Senator Tammy Baldwin Favorability +3%
- Favorability 40% (Was 37% in October poll)
- Unfavorability 37% (Was 37% in October poll)
- Haven’t heard enough 22%
GOP Presidential Primary Preference
- Trump 31%
- Desantis 30%
- Other 18%
- Undecided 21%
Choice between just Trump vs. Desantis
- Desantis 57%
- Trump 41%
Background on the survey
Marquette University Law School released a June poll this Wednesday. Below, please find the methodology of the poll as released by the Law School in their press release:
About the Marquette Law School Poll
The poll interviewed 913 registered Wisconsin voters by landline or cell phone between June 8-13, 2023. The margin of error is +/- 4.3 percentage points for the full sample. The sample includes 419 Republicans and independents who lean Republican and 453 Democrats or independents who lean Democrat. The interviews were conducted online with 666 respondents and with 247 by telephone with live interviewers.
Complete results can be found here:
National Politics
President Joe Biden
President Joe Biden Favorability -9%
- Favorability 45% (Was 42% in October poll)
- Unfavorability 54% (Was 53% in October poll)
President Joe Biden Job Approval -8%
- Approve 45% (Was 41% in October poll)
- Disapprove 53% (Was 54% in October poll)
The MU Law School Poll found that 45% of registered voters approve of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president, and 53% disapprove of the way he is handling his job, a net -8% in job approval.
For comparison, in the last MU Law School survey in October 2022, 41% of registered voters approved of the job the president was doing and 54% disapproved of the way he was handling the job, a net -13% approval.
President Biden’s personal favorability tracks close to his job approval with 45% of registered voters having a favorable opinion of him and 54% having an unfavorable opinion of him, a net -9% favorability. Those numbers are similar to the October poll, which found that 42% of registered voters had a favorable opinion of the President and 53% had an unfavorable opinion, a net -11% favorability.
Among voters who identified as Democrats, Biden is viewed favorably by 87% and unfavorably by 10%. Independents were 45% favorable and 53% unfavorable, while Republicans were 2% favorable and 97% unfavorable.
Senator Ron Johnson
Senator Ron Johnson Favorability -13%
- Favorability 37% (Was 43% in October poll)
- Unfavorability 50% (Was 46% in October poll)
- Haven’t heard enough 12%
37% of registered voters have a favorable opinion of Republican US Senator Ron Johnson and 50% have an unfavorable opinion of him. Johnson’s net favorability has significantly decreased to -13%, down from the net -3% favorability that he had in the October poll.
About 82% of Republicans said they had a favorable opinion of Johnson, compared to 29% of Independents and 3% of Democrats.
About 9% of Republicans had an unfavorable opinion of Johnson, compared to 53% of Independents and 87% of Democrats.
Senator Tammy Baldwin
Senator Tammy Baldwin Favorability +3%
- Favorability 40% (Was 37% in October poll)
- Unfavorability 37% (Was 37% in October poll)
- Haven’t heard enough 22%
40% of registered voters have a favorable opinion of Democratic US Senator Tammy Baldwin and 37% have an unfavorable opinion of her. Sen. Baldwin’s net favorability increased between the October and June polls by 3 percentage points.
About 76% of Democrats said they had a favorable opinion of Baldwin, compared to 37% of Independents and 9% of Republicans.
About 4% of Democrats said they had an unfavorable opinion of Baldwin, compared to 34% of Independents and 75% of Republicans.
State Politics
Governor Tony Evers
Governor Tony Evers Favorability +13%
- Favorability 52% (Was 44% in October poll)
- Unfavorability 39% (Was 46% in October poll)
Governor Tony Evers Job Approval +18%
- 57% Approve (Was 46% in October poll)
- 39% Disapprove (Was 47% in October poll)
52% of registered voters have a favorable opinion of Governor Evers and 39% have an unfavorable opinion of him. Evers’ net favorability increased 15 percentage points between the October and June polls, going from -2% to +13%.
90% of Democrats and leaning Democrats said they had a favorable opinion of Evers, compared to 55% of independents and 10% of Republicans and leaning Republicans.
81% of Republicans and leaning Republicans said they had an unfavorable opinion of Evers, compared to 34% of independents and 4% of Democrats and leaning Democrats.
Governor Tony Evers’ job approval has increased with 57% of registered voters saying they approve of the job Governor Evers is doing and 39% saying they disapprove (+18% net approval). This is a plus 19-point swing since the October survey when 46% said they approved and 47% disapproved of the job Gov. Evers was doing (a net -1% approval).
93% of Democrats and leaning Democrats said they approved of Evers, compared to 60% of Independents and 17% of Republicans and leaning Republicans.
79% of Republicans and leaning Republicans said they disapproved of Evers, compared to 35% of Independents and 4% of Democrats and leaning Democrats.
2024 Elections
Presidential Primary Election
Respondents were asked “Here are some potential candidates for the Republican presidential nomination. If the primary were today, whom would you vote for or haven’t you decided?”
Vote preference for GOP presidential nominee among Republicans and lean-Republicans
- Donald Trump: 31%
- Ron DeSantis: 30%
- Mike Pence: 6%
- Tim Scott: 5%
- Vivek Ramaswamy: 3%
- Nikki Hailey: 3%
- Undecided: 21%
Respondents were asked “If it were a choice between just the two of them, whom would you prefer as the Republican nominee for president in 2024: [Donald Trump] or [Florida Governor Ron DeSantis]?”
Vote preference for GOP presidential nominee if only choices are Trump and DeSantis
- Ron DeSantis: 57%
- Donald Trump: 41%
Former President Trump
Former President Donald Trump Favorability -22%
- Favorability 33% (Was 39% in October poll)
- Unfavorability 65% (Was 53% in October poll)
33% of registered voters have a favorable opinion of former President Donald Trump and 65% have an unfavorable opinion of him. Trump’s net favorability has significantly decreased to -22%, down from the net -14% favorability that he had in the October poll.
About 72% of Republicans said they had a favorable opinion of Trump, compared to 28% of Independents and 0% of Democrats.
About 25% of Republicans had an unfavorable opinion of Trump, compared to 69% of Independents and 99% of Democrats.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
Governor Ron DeSantis Favorability -15%
- Favorability 33%
- Unfavorability 48%
- Haven’t heard enough 18%
33% of registered voters have a favorable opinion of Florida Governor Ron Desantis and 48% have an unfavorable opinion of him.
About 74% of Republicans said they had a favorable opinion of Desantis, compared to 25% of Independents and 3% of Democrats.
About 10% of Republicans had an unfavorable opinion of Desantis, compared to 54% of Independents and 79% of Democrats.
Respondents were asked “Here are some potential candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination. If the primary were today, whom would you vote for or haven’t you decided?”
Vote preference for Democratic presidential nominee among Democratic and lean-Democrats
- Joe Biden: 46%
- RFK Jr. : 9%
- Mariann Williamson: 3%
- Undecided: 39%
Respondents were asked “If you had to choose, would you vote for [Biden] or for [DeSantis]?”
Vote preference for President among all voters
- Joe Biden: 49%
- Ron Desantis: 47%
Respondents were asked “If you had to choose, would you vote for [Biden] or for [Trump]?”
Vote preference for President among all voters
- Joe Biden: 52%
- Donald Trump: 43%
GOP Senate Primary
Congressman Tom Tiffany
Congressman Tom Tiffany Favorability -1%
- Favorability 12%
- Unfavorability 13%
- Haven’t heard enough 71%
12% of voters have a favorable opinion of Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany and 13% have an unfavorable opinion of him for a net favorability of -1%.
About 25% of Republicans said they had a favorable opinion of Tiffany, compared to 10% of Independents and 2% of Democrats.
About 4% of Republicans said they had a unfavorable opinion of Tiffany, compared to 10% of Independents and 27% of Democrats.
About 70% of Republicans said they did not know enough to have an opinion of Tiffany, compared to 78% of Independents and 68% of Democrats.
Businessman Eric Hovde
Businessman Eric Hovde Favorability -4%
- Favorability 4%
- Unfavorability 8%
- Haven’t heard enough 85%
4% of voters have a favorable opinion of Eric Hovde and 8% have an unfavorable opinion of him for a net favorability of -4%.
About 8% of Republicans said they had a favorable opinion of Hovde, compared to 4% of Independents and 2% of Democrats.
About 4% of Republicans said they had a unfavorable opinion of Hovde, compared to 9% of Independents and 10% of Democrats.
About 85% of Republicans said they did not know enough to have an opinion of Hovde, compared to 84% of Independents and 86% of Democrats.
Former Sheriff David Clarke
Former Sheriff David Clarke Favorability +2%
- Favorability 25%
- Unfavorability 23%
- Haven’t heard enough 50%
25% of voters have a favorable opinion of Former Sheriff David Clarke and 23% have an unfavorable opinion of him for a net favorability of +2%.
About 54% of Republicans said they had a favorable opinion of Clarke, compared to 20% of Independents and 3% of Democrats.
About 6% of Republicans said they had a unfavorable opinion of Clarke, compared to 24% of Independents and 41% of Democrats.
About 39% of Republicans said they did not know enough to have an opinion of Clarke, compared to 53% of Independents and 55% of Democrats.
State Issues
Right Direction-Wrong Track:
When asked “do you feel things in Wisconsin are generally going in the right direction, or do you feel things have gotten off on the wrong track?” 40% of registered voters said Wisconsin is going in the right direction and 57% said it is on the “wrong track.”
Views largely broke down along partisan lines:
- Republican: 23% right direction | 77% wrong track
- Democrat: 53% right direction | 43% wrong track
- Independent: 44% right direction | 53% wrong track
In October 2022, 40% said that Wisconsin was going in the right direction and 53% said it was on the wrong track. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 61% said it was going in the right direction and 30% said it was on the wrong track.
WI Government working or broken:
Similarly, when asked “Is the government in Wisconsin working as it was intended to or is it broken?” 32% of registered voters said Wisconsin is working as intended and 64% said it “is broken.”
The view that Wisconsin government is broken was the majority feeling regardless of political affiliation:
- Republican: 30% working as intended | 68% is broken
- Democrat: 31% working as intended | 64% is broken
- Independent: 34% working as intended | 64% is broken
Policy Issues
Abortion Legality
When asked, “Do you think abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases, or illegal in all cases?” 66% of registered voters in Wisconsin said abortion should be legal in all or most cases while 31% said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
Abortion legality continues to be a focal point of political debate that breaks down along party lines:
Legal in all cases: 32% (GOP: 9% | Independents: 30% | Dems: 61%)
Legal in most cases: 34% (GOP: 26% | Independents: 40% | Dems: 31%)
Illegal in most cases: 25% (GOP: 47% | Independents: 22% | Dems: 6%)
Illegal in all cases: 6% (GOP: 14% | Independents: 4% | Dems: 2%)
Increase Shared Revenue:
While abortion continues to be a contested topic, increasing shared revenue enjoys broad support among registered voters in Wisconsin. When asked “Do you favor or oppose increasing state aid, called shared revenue, to counties and municipalities?” 70% of registered voters in Wisconsin favor the increase while 20% oppose the increase.
Increasing shared revenue also enjoys bipartisan support:
- Republican: 53% favor | 39% oppose
- Democrat: 85% favor | 6% oppose
- Independent: 73% favor | 17% oppose
