Marist Poll: Three Republicans Trailing Democrats in Midwest

GOP Senate and gubernatorial candidates in three Midwest states are trailing Democratic opponents in hypothetical matchups — with GOP Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin lagging 10 points behind his leading Democratic opponent, NBC News reported.

According to new NBC News/Marist polling in Wisconsin, 34 percent of registered voters want Walker re-elected in the fall, while 61 percent want a new governor.

State schools superintendent Tony Evers — the leader among nine others in a crowded primary — has 26 percent support in the race against Walker; nine other Democrats register in the single digits. If Evers faces Walker in the general election, he leads Walker 54 percent to 41 percent in a hypothetical matchup, the poll showed.

Here is the NBC News/Marist polling breakdown in the two other key Midwest states:

• In Michigan, which holds its primary Aug. 7, John James leads rival Sandy Pensler in the Republican Senate contest to take on Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, 30 percent to 23 percent. Forty-five percent are undecided.
• Stabenow leads James 55 percent to 37 percent among registered voters; the incumbent Democrat leads Pensler 52 percent to 37 percent, the poll showed.
• In the Michigan governor's race, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer and Republican Bill Schuette lead their primary fields. In a hypothetical general election matchup, Whitmer bests Schuette among all registered voters, 47 percent to 38 percent.

• In the poll of Minnesota voters ahead of the Aug. 14 gubernatorial primary, GOP former governor Tim Pawlenty holds a substantial lead over Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, while the top two Democrats duking it out for the nomination are neck-and-neck.
• Pawlenty leads Johnson among likely Republican voters, 49 percent to 34 percent. On the Democratic side, state attorney general Lori Swanson gets 28 percent support, compared with 27 percent support for Rep. Tim Walz.
• But in one-on-one matchups against either Swanson or Walz, Pawlenty registers at 40 percent to either Democrats’ 51 percent.
• In the general election for Minnesota U.S. Senate seat, the advantage is even wider for incumbent Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., who replaced Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., after he resigned amid a harassment controversy late last year. She leads GOP challenger Karin Housley 49 percent to 35 percent in a general election matchup, the survey showed.

The margins of error for the registered voters in Michigan is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points; it is 4 percentage points for registered voters in Minnesota; and it is 3.8 percentage points for registered voters in Wisconsin.

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