Poll: Walker Holds 7 Point Lead Against Challenger

With less than a week to go before the recall election Gov. Scott Walker seems poised to beat back union efforts to turn him out of office. A new survey of 600 likely voters by the Marquette Law School finds Walker with 52 percent and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett with 45 percent.

Walker’s seven-point lead is one point up from his six-point lead registered in the last Marquette poll taken May 9-12. The current survey was taken May 23-26, with most interviews completed before last Friday’s first gubernatorial debate.

The poll, with a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points, showed that Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, also facing a recall challenge, had 46 percent and challenger Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin president Mahlon Mitchell had 41 percent.

The gubernatorial recall election, just the third in the nation’s history, was sparked by Walker’s support of legislation to curtail bargaining rights of government employees. The move also led to recall efforts against members of the state senate.

The poll found that among voters Walker holds a 51 percent favorable to 46 percent unfavorable image and 51 to 45 percent favorable job approval rating. Barrett’s numbers, however, are underwater. Some 41 percent have a favorable opinion of him to 46 percent unfavorable.

Opinions on how Walker has done his job are almost evenly divided, with 39 percent approving and 38 disapproving. On the issue of whether the state is going in the right direction, 52 percent said yes and 44 percent no.