No candidate has established strong position in public favorability in governor, state Supreme Court races; large majorities of voters undecided

Also:

• Inflation and cost of living draw the most concern among voters overall, with big partisan divisions in concern over health insurance and immigration
• Approval of President Trump job performance ticks down, while approval of Gov. Evers ticks up
• Some overall improvement since February in people’s views of their personal financial situations
• Three-way divide on who is responsible for federal shutdown: Republicans, Democrats, or both

MILWAUKEE — MILWAUKEE – A new Marquette Law School Poll of Wisconsin registered voters finds that the majority of both Republicans and Democrats haven’t decided on a primary choice for governor in 2026, while only 6% say they have heard a lot about the campaigns for that office.

In the gubernatorial race, 70% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats haven’t made a primary choice.

In awareness of the various 2026 campaigns for governor, 57% of registered voters have heard a little and 37% have heard nothing at all, along with the aforementioned 6% who have heard a lot. Those who have heard a lot or a little about the governor’s race are also substantially undecided, with 64% undecided in the Republican primary and 73% undecided in the Democratic primary.

With no incumbent running in either party’s primary, it is not surprising that all candidates are little known statewide, and the long primary campaign must introduce them to the voters. In the Republican primary, Rep. Tom Tiffany is the best known, with 39% who recognize his name and have an opinion of him. In the same primary, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann is recognized by 17%, and medical service technician Andy Manske is recognized by 11%.

In the Democratic primary, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley is recognized by 26%, closely followed by Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez at 25% name recognition and State Rep. Francesca Hong with 22%. Candidates with recognition rates in the teens include state Sen. Kelda Roys, 17%; lawyer Missy Hughes, 16%; former state Rep. Brett Hulsey, 15%; and Milwaukee beer vendor Ryan Strnad, 11%.

The primary date for the governor’s race is scheduled for Aug. 11, 2026, with the final election on Nov. 3, 2026.

Name recognition and favorability for all candidates are shown in Table 1. Only two candidates, Schoemann and Rodriguez, have positive net favorability, just 1 point in each case, while other candidates have net negative favorability in single digits. In all cases, more than 60% of registered voters say they haven’t heard enough or don’t know how they feel about the candidates.

Table 1: Favorability of gubernatorial candidates

Among registered voters

Candidate
	Name ID	Net Fav	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough	Don’t know
Republican Primary
Andy Manske	11	-3	4	7	87	2
Josh Schoemann	17	1	9	8	81	2
Tom Tiffany	39	-3	18	21	60	2
Democratic Primary
David Crowley	26	-2	12	14	72	2
Francesca Hong	22	-6	8	14	76	2
Missy Hughes	16	-6	5	11	83	2
Brett Hulsey	15	-7	4	11	82	2
Sara Rodriguez	25	1	13	12	74	1
Kelda Roys	17	-3	7	10	81	2
Ryan Strnad	11	-5	3	8	87	2
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Here are some people running for governor. Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of [INSERT NAME] or haven’t you heard enough about them yet?
Note: Name ID is the percentage that have an opinion of the candidate

The survey was conducted Oct. 15-22, 2025, interviewing 846 Wisconsin registered voters, with a margin of error of +/-4.5 percentage points. To cover more subjects, a number of items were asked of random half-samples of 423 registered voters, with a margin of error of +/-6.4 percentage points. The sample size for Republican primary voters is 406, with a margin of error of 6.4 percentage points. The sample size for Democratic primary voters is 378, with a margin of error of 6.9 percentage points.

There are generally small differences in name recognition by party identification, with Republicans and Democrats about equally likely to recognize candidates of their own and of the opposing party. Net favorability, however, differs by party, with Republicans more net favorable to Republican candidates and net negative to Democratic candidates, and Democrats net favorable to their party’s candidates, with two exceptions, and unfavorable to the Republican candidates. These results are shown in Table 2.

Table 2: 2026 gubernatorial race, name ID and favorability, by party identification

Among registered voters

Candidate
	Reps: Name ID	Inds: Name ID	Dems: Name ID	Reps: Net Fav	Inds: Net Fav	Dems: Net Fav
Republican Primary
Andy Manske	10	16	10	0	-4	-6
Josh Schoemann	23	19	11	13	-7	-9
Tom Tiffany	39	34	40	29	0	-38
Democratic Primary
David Crowley	25	37	24	-13	-7	10
Francesca Hong	22	22	21	-20	-16	13
Missy Hughes	19	15	12	-17	-5	6
Brett Hulsey	15	24	13	-9	-16	-1
Sara Rodriguez	23	29	27	-17	1	21
Kelda Roys	14	21	18	-14	-9	10
Ryan Strnad	12	16	9	-8	-2	-3
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Here are some people running for governor. Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of [INSERT NAME] or haven’t you heard enough about them yet?
Note: Name ID is the percentage that have an opinion of the candidate

There is some regional variation in candidate name recognition, the most substantial being Tiffany’s in the north and western media markets of the state, where 60% have an opinion of him. This region substantially overlaps with his 7th Congressional District. Crowley is also considerably better known in the Milwaukee media market. With the exception of Tiffany, candidates are a bit better known in the Milwaukee and Madison media markets than they are in the Green Bay market or the north and western markets. These results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3: 2026 gubernatorial race, name ID, by media market

Among registered voters

Candidate
	Milwaukee market: Name ID	Madison market: Name ID	Green Bay: Name ID	North & Western markets: Name ID
Republican Primary
Andy Manske	14	9	9	10
Josh Schoemann	24	16	12	12
Tom Tiffany	34	36	27	60
Democratic Primary
David Crowley	42	20	12	17
Francesca Hong	27	28	13	17
Missy Hughes	20	16	9	12
Brett Hulsey	19	20	10	10
Sara Rodriguez	31	29	17	17
Kelda Roys	20	25	10	9
Ryan Strnad	14	13	9	6
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Here are some people running for governor. Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of [INSERT NAME] or haven’t you heard enough about them yet?
Note: Name ID is the percentage that have an opinion of the candidate
Note: Media markets contain a number of counties surrounding the city for which they are named. The north and western markets include La Crosse/Eau Claire, Wausau, Minneapolis, and Duluth/Superior markets.

While 70% of Republican primary voters say they have not made up their minds, Tiffany receives 23%, Schoemann gets 6%, and Manske less than half of a percent.

Among Democrats, where 81% are undecided, no candidate receives more than single digit support. Hong holds 6%, Rodriguez 4%, Crowley 3%, Roys 3%, Hughes 2%, Strnad less than half a percent, and Hulsey with no support in this poll.

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates

The two announced Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates are also little known to the public. The name recognition of Waukesha-based appeals court Judge Maria Lazar is 15%. For Madison-based appeals court Judge Chris Taylor, it is 16%. Lazar is seen favorably by 7% and unfavorably by 8%. For Taylor, 7% have a favorable opinion and 9% have an unfavorable opinion.

Only 6% say they have heard a lot about the Supreme Court election in April, with 46% having heard a little and 47% having heard nothing at all.

At this early stage of the campaign, 10% say they have a clear idea what Lazar stands for and 11% have a clear idea what Taylor stands for.

Despite the lack of knowledge about the race, 69% of registered voters say they are absolutely certain to vote in April, while 20% say they are very likely to vote, 10% say the chances are 50-50, and 2% say they won’t vote. Among Democrats, 74% are certain they will vote, as are 69% of Republicans and 52% of independents.

A large majority of voters, 83%, think that judicial candidates should discuss issues likely to come before them if elected so that voters know what the candidates stand for, while 17% say candidates should avoid talking about such issues in order not to seem to be pre-judging cases. In February 2025, 79% said judicial candidates should discuss issues.

Fifty-six percent say Wisconsin Supreme Court campaigns have become so partisan that we should change to partisan election of judges, while 43% say we should continue the current non-partisan election of judges to the court. Among Republicans, 63% say we should change to partisan elections, while 49% of independents and 49% of Democrats favor partisan elections.

Issue concerns

Sixty-nine percent of respondents say they are very concerned about inflation and the cost of living. Health insurance drew the second largest response, with 60% saying they are very concerned. Voters could select more than one issue that was very concerning to them. Between 56% and 50% say they are very concerned about five other issues: in descending order of concern, these are public schools, gun violence, jobs and the economy, the affordability of housing, and abortion policy. Forty-eight percent say they are very concerned about taxes, and 45% say the matter of illegal immigration and border security is very concerning. As for crime in their community, 31% say they are very concerned. The full results are shown in Table 4.

Table 4: Issue concerns

Among registered voters

Issue	Concern
	Very concerned	Somewhat concerned	Not too concerned	Not at all concerned
Inflation and the cost of living	69	26	4	1
Health insurance	60	27	8	5
Public schools	56	30	11	3
Gun violence	56	19	19	7
Jobs and the economy	53	36	9	2
Affordability of housing	53	27	12	8
Abortion policy	50	23	16	11
Taxes	48	37	10	5
Illegal immigration & border security	45	22	16	17
Crime in your community	31	25	32	11
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: How concerned are you about each of the following?

There are substantial partisan differences in issue concerns. Table 5 shows the percentage who are very concerned about each issue, by party identification. Republicans express less concern about 7 of the 10 issues than do Democrats, while they are more concerned about 3 issues. On the issue of greatest concern among all registered votes—inflation—54% of Republicans are very concerned, compared to 79% of independents and 83% of Democrats. The partisan gap is even larger for health insurance and for gun violence, where Republicans are much less concerned than are Democrats. The largest partisan gap is over illegal immigration and border security, where 75% of Republicans are very concerned, compared to 31% of independents and 16% of Democrats. The smallest partisan differences are concern over taxes and over public schools.

Table 5: Issue concerns, by party identification

Among registered voters

Issue	Percent very concerned by party ID
	All registered voters	Rep-Dem difference	Republican	Independent	Democrat
Inflation and the cost of living	69	-29	54	79	83
Health insurance	60	-45	39	62	83
Public schools	56	-12	52	43	64
Gun violence	56	-46	32	66	78
Jobs and the economy	53	-30	40	47	70
Affordability of housing	53	-37	35	56	72
Abortion policy	50	-17	41	59	58
Taxes	48	4	48	61	44
Illegal immigration & border security	45	60	75	31	16
Crime in your community	31	21	39	42	18
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: How concerned are you about each of the following?

The low concern over “crime in your community” relative to other issues is similar to Marquette polling in April 2022, when 27% said they were very concerned. In part, this reflects a substantial sense of personal safety. Asked “do you feel safe from crime when going about your daily activities,” 81% say they feel safe, while 19% say they are worried about their safety. In five Marquette polls since 2021, between 76% and 82% have said they feel safe in their daily activities.

Most important issue

Respondents were asked which issue is most important to them. Inflation tops this list at 27%, as shown in Table 6. The issue rated second most important is illegal immigration and border security, picked by 16%, followed by health insurance, 14%. While respondents registered considerable concern about public schools (as shown above), only 4% rate this as most important.

Table 6: Most important issue

Among registered voters

Issue
	Percent most important
Inflation and the cost of living	27
Illegal immigration and border security	16
Health insurance	14
Jobs and the economy	9
Gun violence	9
Affordability of housing	9
Taxes	6
Abortion policy	4
Public schools	4
Crime in your community	2
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now?

As with concern about issues, there are substantial partisan differences on which issue is most important, as shown in Table 7.

• Independents and Democrats rate inflation as their most important issue, while Republicans rate it second behind illegal immigration and border security.
• All three partisan groups rate jobs and the economy very similarly.
• Health insurance is third most important among Republicans, second among Democrats, and fourth for independents.
• Taxes are picked as most important for Republicans, at 10%, while only 1% of Democrats say this is most important and independents fall in between, at 5%.
• Gun violence is more important for Democrats and independents but less important for Republicans, with a similar pattern for affordability of housing.
• Abortion policy, which was a more central focus in 2022, has declined as a “most important” issue among all partisan groups in 2025.
• Crime is also picked by only a few as most important.

Table 7: Most important issue, by party identification

Among registered voters

Issue
	All registered voters	Rep-Dem difference	Republican	Independent	Democrat
Inflation and the cost of living	27	-9	23	27	32
Illegal immigration and border security	16	29	31	8	3
Health insurance	14	-7	11	10	18
Jobs and the economy	9	-1	9	9	10
Gun violence	9	-12	2	16	14
Affordability of housing	9	-5	5	16	10
Taxes	6	9	10	5	1
Abortion policy	4	-2	3	3	5
Public schools	4	-2	3	1	5
Crime in your community	2	1	3	5	1
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now?

Forty-four percent say prices of groceries have gone up a lot over the past six months, 32% say prices have gone up a little, 13% say they have stayed about the same, and 11% say they have gone down a little. Fewer than 1% say grocery prices have gone down a lot.

Republicans are much more likely to say grocery prices have gone down or stayed the same than are independents and Democrats, as shown in Table 8. Independents are more likely than Democrats to say prices have remained about the same, but more independents than Democrats say prices have gone up a lot.

Table 8: Change in grocery prices, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Change in prices
	Gone down a little or a lot	Stayed about the same	Gone up a little	Gone up a lot
Among all registered voters	11	13	32	44
Republican	23	23	30	25
Independent	2	11	23	64
Democrat	1	2	38	59
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: How has the price you pay for groceries changed over the last six months?

The perceived change in grocery prices is also higher among women than among men. Among women, 51% say prices have gone up a lot, while among men 36% say the same. This gap is not explained by the fact that women are more likely to be Democrats than are men. Within party, 32% of Republican women and 17% of Republican men say grocery prices have gone up a lot. Among independents, 80% of women and 49% of men say prices are up a lot, and among Democrats, 61% of women and 55% of men see substantially higher prices.

A majority of respondents, 57%, think President Donald Trump’s policies will increase inflation, while 30% say his policies will decrease inflation and 12% believe they will have no effect on inflation. Here, too, there are substantial partisan differences, as seen in Table 9. A majority of Republicans, 60%, say Trump’s policies will decrease inflation, while 69% of independents and 96% of Democrats think his policies will increase inflation.

Table 9: Effect of Trump policies on inflation, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Effect of policies
	Decrease inflation	Increase inflation	Have no effect on inflation
Among all registered voters	30	57	12
Republican	60	18	21
Independent	14	69	17
Democrat	1	96	1
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Do you think Trump’s policy proposals will decrease inflation, increase inflation, or have no effect on inflation?

Twenty-eight percent of registered voters say they are better off than a year ago, while 30% say they are worse off and 42% say they are about the same. That marks some improvement from February, when 21% said they were better off, 31% were worse off, and 49% were about the same.

Family financial situation is somewhat improved from a year ago. In October 2024, 44% said they were living comfortably. In the new poll, 50% say they are comfortable. The percent who said they were struggling financially was 17% a year ago and is 11% now. The percent of those just getting by has not changed, at 39% in both 2024 and 2025.

National issues

Tariffs have been a central focus of the second Trump administration. Voters are doubtful of their impact on the economy, with 33% saying tariffs help the economy, 55% saying they hurt the economy, and 11% saying they don’t make much difference. The percentage saying tariffs help the economy was similar during the first Trump administration in 2019 and 2020, but the percentage saying they hurt the economy is somewhat larger in Trump’s second term, as shown in Table 10.

Table 10: Effect of tariffs on the economy

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Effect of tariffs
	Helps US economy	Hurts US economy	Doesn’t make much difference
8/25-29/19	30	46	17
10/13-17/19	33	41	17
1/8-12/20	32	37	24
2/19-26/25	32	51	16
6/13-19/25	31	57	10
10/15-22/25	33	55	11
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: In general, do you think imposing tariffs or fees on products imported from other countries helps the U.S. economy, hurts the economy, or doesn’t make much of a difference either way?

Sixty-four percent of Republicans say tariffs will help the economy, while 55% of independents and 95% of Democrats think they will hurt the economy. The full results are shown in Table 11.

Table 11: Effect of tariffs on the economy, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Effect of tariffs
	Helps US economy	Hurts US economy	Doesn’t make much difference
Among all registered voters	33	55	11
Republican	64	19	16
Independent	25	55	19
Democrat	2	95	3
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: In general, do you think imposing tariffs or fees on products imported from other countries helps the U.S. economy, hurts the economy, or doesn’t make much of a difference either way?

Asked if tariffs are helping or hurting Wisconsin farmers, 16% say they are helping, 62% say they are hurting farmers, and 20% believe they aren’t making much difference. While a majority of Republicans said tariffs in general help the economy, Republicans are evenly divided over whether tariffs are helping Wisconsin farmers, with 31% saying they are helping farmers, 32% saying hurting, and 36% saying they have not made much difference. Majorities of independents and Democrats say the tariffs are hurting farmers, as shown in Table 12.

Table 12: Are tariffs helping Wisconsin farmers, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Tariffs helping or hurting Wisconsin farmers
	Helping Wisconsin farmers	Hurting Wisconsin farmers	Not making much of a difference
Among all registered voters	16	62	20
Republican	31	32	36
Independent	15	63	20
Democrat	0	95	3
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Do you think tariffs are helping or hurting Wisconsin farmers, or not making much of a difference either way?

Overall, voters are about evenly divided over which party is most responsible for the shutdown of the federal government, with 33% saying the Democrats, 38% saying the Republicans, and 28% saying they are equally responsible. The gap in partisan views of who is responsible is quite large, with each party blaming the other. A majority of independents blame both parties, as shown in Table 13.

Table 13: Which party is responsible for government shutdown by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Responsible for federal government shutdown
	The Democrats in Congress	The Republicans in Congress	Both equally
Among all registered voters	33	38	28
Republican	71	2	27
Independent	10	26	63
Democrat	0	82	18
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Who do you think is most responsible for the shutdown of the federal government?

One issue facing Congress is whether to extend increased tax credits that help pay for health insurance purchased through the marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act, or to let the increased credits expire at the end of 2025. Fifty-eight percent say the credits should be extended, while 41% say they should be allowed to expire. Among Republicans, 67% say the credits should expire, while 54% of independents and 89% of Democrats want the credits extended.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), often called Obamacare, is seen favorably by 53% and unfavorably by 38%, with 8% who say they don’t know enough about it. Since the act was adopted in 2010, support for it has increased and opposition declined. In June 2017, shortly before the first Trump administration’s attempt to repeal parts of the ACA, 51% had an unfavorable view of the ACA and 41% had a favorable view, in a Marquette Law School Poll of Wisconsin.

State issues

Data centers

A majority of voters statewide, 55%, say the costs of large data centers are greater than the benefits they provide, while 44% say the benefits outweigh the costs. Opinion differs little across the state, with 53% in the Milwaukee media market saying the costs outweigh the benefits, as do 50% in the Green Bay media market and 53% in the north and western media markets of the state. In the Madison media market, 63% say the costs outweigh the benefits.

Paid family leave

A large majority, 77%, favor requiring businesses to provide paid family leave for mothers and fathers of newborns, while 22% are opposed. This is little changed from October 2022, when 73% favored and 18% opposed requiring businesses to provide paid parental leave. In the current poll, 64% of Republicans, 72% of independents, and 93% of Democrats favor paid leave.

Voter registration

There is majority support for requiring a photo ID to vote, for continuing to allow election day registration for voting, and for requiring proof of citizenship in order to register to vote.

The photo ID requirement, which has been in effect for more than a decade, is favored by 78%, an increase from 60% in late October 2014.

Continuing the current Wisconsin law that allows voters to register on election day is favored by 78% and opposed by 22%.

A proposal to require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote is favored by 72% and opposed by 27%

Concealed carry

The current Wisconsin law allowing residents to obtain a license to carry concealed handguns is favored by 77% and opposed by 22%, an increase in support since January 2016, when 63% were in favor.

Proposals to allow concealed carry without a licensing requirement are opposed by 78% and favored by 20%. This is little changed from October 2021, when 76% were opposed and 20% were in favor.

Public schools

Sixty-two percent of voters say they are very or somewhat satisfied with the job public schools are doing, with 37% saying they are very or somewhat dissatisfied. Satisfaction has generally been above 60% in polling since 2018, a bit lower than in polls from 2012 to 2017, when satisfaction was often above 70%, as shown in Table 14.

Table 14: Satisfaction with the job public schools are doing

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Satisfaction
	Very satisfied/satisfied	Very dissatisfied/dissatisfied	Don’t know/mixed
10/15-22/25	62	37	1
6/13-19/25	63	36	1
2/19-26/25	58	41	1
10/16-24/24	65	35	1
9/18-26/24	64	36	1
6/12-20/24	46	41	13
10/26-11/2/23	63	35	2
6/8-13/23	67	31	2
9/6-11/22	62	31	7
4/19-24/22	62	32	5
10/26-31/21	60	30	9
8/3-8/21	69	22	9
1/8-12/20	59	33	8
9/12-16/18	64	25	11
3/13-16/17	74	19	6
4/7-10/15	75	21	3
5/6-9/13	71	25	4
3/11-13/13	81	14	5
5/23-26/12	71	24	5
5/9-12/12	68	25	6
4/26-29/12	66	27	6
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: How satisfied are you with the job the public schools are doing in your community?

Voters have grown more concerned with holding down property taxes than with increasing funding for K-12 schools in recent years. In this poll, 56% say reducing property taxes is more important, while 44% say increasing funding for K-12 schools is more important. In 2013, more voters were concerned with property taxes than school funding, but this reversed from 2015 until November 2022. Since June 2023, more have rated property taxes as more important. The full trend is shown in Table 15.

Table 15: More important: reducing property taxes or increasing K-12 funding

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Which more important
	Reducing property taxes	Increasing spending on public schools
10/15-22/25	56	44
6/13-19/25	57	43
2/19-26/25	58	41
10/16-24/24	55	44
9/18-26/24	56	44
10/26-11/2/23	52	47
6/8-13/23	50	47
10/24-11/1/22	46	48
10/3-9/22	42	52
9/6-11/22	41	51
8/10-15/22	43	52
4/19-24/22	46	50
8/3-8/21	42	52
2/19-23/20	38	56
1/8-12/20	41	55
1/16-20/19	39	55
10/24-28/18	40	55
10/3-7/18	37	57
9/12-16/18	38	57
8/15-19/18	32	61
6/13-17/18	35	59
2/25-3/1/18	33	63
4/7-10/15	40	54
5/6-9/13	49	46
3/11-13/13	49	46
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Which is more important to you: reduce property taxes or increase spending on public schools?

In this poll, for the first time, a majority, 57%, say they would be inclined to vote against a referendum to increase taxes for schools in their community, while 43% say they would vote for a referendum. Opposition to referendums has increased in polling since 2016, as shown in Table 16.

Table 16: Vote for or against school tax referendum

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Referendum vote
	Vote for	Vote against	Don’t know
10/15-22/25	43	57	0
6/13-19/25	52	46	1
2/19-23/20	57	34	8
1/21-24/16	55	35	9
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: If your local school board proposed a referendum to increase taxes for schools would you be more inclined to vote for or to vote against that referendum?

Approval of governor, legislature, and Wisconsin Supreme Court

Approval of the job Gov. Tony Evers is doing rose to 50%, up slightly from 48% in June. Disapproval declined one point to 45%, compared to 46% in June. The full trend for Evers approval is shown in Table 17.

Table 17: Evers job approval

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Approval
	Net	Approve	Disapprove	Don’t know
10/15-22/25	5	50	45	5
6/13-19/25	2	48	46	5
2/19-26/25	5	49	44	6
10/16-24/24	6	51	45	4
9/18-26/24	2	48	46	5
8/28-9/5/24	7	51	44	5
7/24-8/1/24	7	51	44	5
6/12-20/24	7	51	44	6
4/3-10/24	8	52	44	3
1/24-31/24	7	51	44	5
10/26-11/2/23	7	53	46	2
6/8-13/23	18	57	39	4
10/24-11/1/22	-1	46	47	6
10/3-9/22	-2	46	48	5
9/6-11/22	-3	44	47	8
8/10-15/22	2	47	45	8
6/14-20/22	3	48	45	6
4/19-24/22	6	49	43	7
2/22-27/22	9	50	41	8
10/26-31/21	-1	45	46	8
8/3-8/21	7	50	43	7
10/21-25/20	7	50	43	7
9/30-10/4/20	10	52	42	5
8/30-9/3/20	8	51	43	5
8/4-9/20	20	57	37	6
6/14-18/20	16	54	38	6
5/3-7/20	26	59	33	7
3/24-29/20	36	65	29	6
2/19-23/20	13	51	38	10
1/8-12/20	11	51	40	9
12/3-8/19	12	50	38	11
11/13-17/19	5	47	42	10
10/13-17/19	18	52	34	13
8/25-29/19	20	54	34	10
4/3-7/19	10	47	37	15
1/16-20/19	17	39	22	38
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way Tony Evers is handling his job as Governor of Wisconsin?

Approval of how the Wisconsin legislature is handling its job is at 39%, slightly down from 41% in June, with disapproval holding steady at 50%. The full trend for approval of the legislature is in Table 18.

Table 18: Legislature job approval

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Approval
	Net	Approve	Disapprove	Don’t know
10/15-22/25	-11	39	50	11
6/13-19/25	-9	41	50	10
2/19-26/25	-11	38	49	13
9/18-26/24	-22	33	55	12
7/24-8/1/24	-21	33	54	12
4/3-10/24	-22	34	56	9
1/24-31/24	-24	34	58	8
10/26-11/2/23	-17	40	57	3
4/19-24/22	-9	38	47	14
2/22-27/22	-9	37	46	16
10/26-31/21	-10	38	48	14
8/3-8/21	-9	39	48	13
10/21-25/20	-14	36	50	13
5/3-7/20	6	46	40	13
2/19-23/20	6	46	40	13
11/13-17/19	9	48	39	13
8/25-29/19	14	52	38	8
4/3-7/19	12	50	38	11
1/16-20/19	21	52	31	16
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way the Wisconsin legislature is handling its job?

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has held a net positive approval rating in polling since 2023, with approval at 45% and disapproval at 39% in October. Approval is down from 49% in June and disapproval is up slightly, from 38% then. The full trend is shown in Table 19.

Table 19: Wisconsin Supreme Court job approval

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Approval
	Net	Approve	Disapprove	Don’t know
10/15-22/25	6	45	39	15
6/13-19/25	11	49	38	13
2/19-26/25	9	46	37	16
9/18-26/24	4	44	40	15
7/24-8/1/24	9	46	37	17
4/3-10/24	7	46	39	15
1/24-31/24	2	45	43	13
10/26-11/2/23	8	51	43	5
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way the Wisconsin state Supreme Court is handling its job?

Approval of Donald Trump

Approval of Trump’s handling of his job as president stands at 46% with disapproval at 53%. In June, approval was 47% and disapproval was 52%. In the first poll of Trump’s second term, in February 2025, approval was 48% and disapproval 51%.

Favorability of political figures

The late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed by a gunman in Utah on Sept. 10, is seen favorably by 46% and unfavorably by 40%, with 13% who say they haven’t heard enough to have an opinion of him.

Among state political figures, Evers has a net favorable opinion of +5 points, with Sen. Tammy Baldwin at a net -2 and Sen. Ron Johnson with a net -7.

Among national political figures, Vice President JD Vance has a 41% favorable and 50% unfavorable rating. Trump has a similar net rating, with 44% favorable and 54% unfavorable.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is viewed favorably by 38% and unfavorably by 52%. Former Vice President Kamala Harris has a 38% favorable rating and 59% unfavorable rating. In the final pre-election poll in October 2024, Harris was seen favorably by 47% and unfavorably by 52%.

The full set of favorability ratings is shown in Table 20.

Table 20: Favorability to state and national political figures

Among registered voters

Political figure	Favorability
	Net Fav	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough
Charlie Kirk	6	46	40	13
Tony Evers	5	48	43	8
Tammy Baldwin	-2	44	46	10
Ron Johnson	-7	37	44	17
JD Vance	-9	41	50	9
Donald Trump	-10	44	54	2
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.	-14	38	52	9
Kamala Harris	-21	38	59	3
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of [INSERT NAME] or haven’t you heard enough about them yet?

Favorability to political groups

Each political organization has a net negative favorability rating. The Republican party is viewed favorably by 45% and unfavorably by 51%. The Democratic party is seen more negatively, with 37% favorable and 57% unfavorable.

The Black Lives Matter movement is rated favorably by 41% and unfavorably by 50%. The Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement is seen favorably 41%, with 54% holding an unfavorable view. The full set of ratings is shown in Table 21.

Table 21: Favorability to political organizations

Among registered voters

Political organization	Favorability
	Net Fav	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough
The Republican Party	-6	45	51	3
The Black Lives Matter movement	-9	41	50	9
The MAGA movement	-13	41	54	6
The Democratic Party	-20	37	57	6
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of [INSERT NAME] or haven’t you heard enough about them yet?

About the Marquette Law School Poll

The Marquette Law School Poll is the most extensive statewide polling project in Wisconsin history. This survey was conducted Oct. 15-22, 2025, interviewing 846 Wisconsin registered voters, with a margin of error of +/-4.5 percentage points. To cover more subjects, a number of items where asked of random half-samples of 423 registered voters with a margin of error of +/-6.4 percentage points. The sample size for Republican primary voters is 406, with a margin of error of 6.4 percentage points. The sample size for Democratic primary voters is 378, with a margin of error of 6.9 percentage points.

Half-sample items include concern about issues, who is responsible for federal government shutdown, data centers, satisfaction with public schools, reduce property taxes or increase school spending, feel safe in daily activities, voter registration topics, concealed carry, abortion policy, and paid family leave.

The survey was conducted with a hybrid sample of 641 respondents selected from the Wisconsin voter registration list, and 205 selected from the SSRS Opinion Panel, a sample drawn from postal addresses across the state and invited to take part in surveys online. The interview was conducted online with 723 respondents and with 123 by telephone with a live interviewer. Full details of the methodology are contained in the methodology statement at the link below.

The partisan makeup of the sample is 36% Republican, 32% Democratic, and 33% independent. When independents who lean to a party are counted as partisans, the sample is 46% Republican, 42% Democratic, and 13% independent. In all polls conducted in 2024, the combined samples were 33% Republican, 31% Democratic, and 36% independent. Counting independents who lean to a party as partisans, the 2024 samples were 45% Republican, 42% Democratic, and 12% independent.

The entire questionnaire, methodology statement, full results and breakdowns by demographic groups are available on the Marquette Law Poll website.

More than 75% of each partisan group say a president must obey Supreme Court orders

Also:

• Opinion is close to evenly split on whether the Court is going out of its way to avoid making a ruling President Trump might disobey
• Opinion is evenly divided on approval of the overall work of the Supreme Court
• Very large partisan gap on approval of the Court’s work

MILWAUKEE – A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds a large majority—84% —of the public believes that a president must obey a ruling of the United States Supreme Court, while 16% say the president has the power to ignore a Court ruling. Despite this belief in the authority of the Court, 55% believe the Court is going out of its way to avoid making a ruling that President Donald Trump might refuse to obey, while 45% percent say the Court is not going out of its way to avoid ruling against the president.

More than three quarters of Republicans, independents, and Democrats each say that the president must obey a Supreme Court ruling, including 80% of Republicans, as shown in Table 1. In eight Marquette polls since 2019 that have asked this question, no partisan group has ever fallen below 70% in saying the president must obey the Court. (All results in the tables are stated as percentages.)

Table 1: President must obey the Supreme Court, by party identification

Among adults

Party ID	Must obey Court
	The president has the power to ignore the ruling	The president is required to do as the ruling says
Republican	20	80
Independent	23	77
Democrat	8	92
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: If the Supreme Court rules against the president in a case, does the president have the power to ignore that ruling, or is the president required to do as the ruling says?

The survey was conducted Sept. 15-24, 2025, interviewing 1,043 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.3 percentage points.

A majority of Republicans, 69%, say the Court is not going out of its way to avoid ruling against Trump, while 58% of independents and 81% of Democrats say the Court is doing so.

Fifty-six percent of respondents say the decisions of the justices are based mainly on politics, while 44% say decisions are based mainly on the law. When this question was first asked in Marquette polling in 2019, 35% said justices were motivated mostly by politics, a figure that remained below 40% until January 2022. Since July 2023, in all 14 Marquette polls, 50% or more have said politics is the main motivation for decisions.

Those who think decisions are more political are more likely to say the Court is trying to avoid conflict with the president, and this relationship holds within each partisan group, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Court going out of way to avoid making a ruling president might disobey, by opinions on whether decisions mainly political or legal, by party ID

Among adults

Mainly politics or law	Avoiding ruling against Trump
	Is going out of its way to avoid	Is not avoiding a ruling
Republican
Mainly politics	46	54
Mainly the law	21	79
Independent
Mainly politics	69	31
Mainly the law	38	62
Democrat
Mainly politics	85	15
Mainly the law	70	30
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: Do you think the U.S. Supreme Court is going out of its way to avoid making a ruling that President Donald Trump might refuse to obey?
Question: In general, what most often motivates Supreme Court justices’ decisions?

While the public strongly believes in the authority of the Supreme Court to rule against a president, people also think federal district courts have considerable power over presidents. Sixty-four percent say the president does not have more authority to ignore federal district court orders than rulings of the Supreme Court, while 36% say the president does have more authority concerning district court orders.

Those who think the president can ignore Supreme Court rulings are also more likely to say the president has additional authority to ignore orders of lower courts. Even among those who believe the president must obey the Supreme Court, 29% say there is more authority to ignore district courts. Table 3 presents this relationship.

Table 3: More able to ignore district court, by must obey Supreme Court

Among adults

Must obey Supreme Court	More able to ignore district court
	Has more authority to ignore	Does not have more authority to ignore
The president has the power to ignore the ruling	70	30
The president is required to do as the ruling says	29	71
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: Does the president have more authority to ignore an order of a federal district court than a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court?
Question: If the Supreme Court rules against the president in a case, does the president have the power to ignore that ruling, or is the president required to do as the ruling says?

District courts have issued a number of orders blocking executive actions since January. Sixty-seven percent of respondents in this poll say such orders are a proper use of judicial authority, while 33% say such orders are not proper. Republicans are evenly split on this question, while more than two-thirds of independents and more than 85% of Democrats say such orders are proper for courts to hand down. This relationship is shown in Table 4.

Table 4: Proper for courts to block executive orders, by party identification

Among adults

Party ID	Proper for courts to block executive orders
	Yes	No
Republican	49	51
Independent	68	32
Democrat	86	14
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: Federal courts have issued orders temporarily blocking a number of the Trump administration’s executive actions. Do you think such orders can be a proper use of judicial authority?

Approval of the Court

Approval of how the Supreme Court is handling its job is evenly divided, with 50% of the public approving and 50% disapproving. In July, 49% approved and 51% disapproved. Approval was between 39% and 48% throughout 2024 and has ranged from 49% to 54% so far in 2025, as shown in Table 5.

Table 5: United States Supreme Court approval

Among adults

Poll dates	Approval
	Net	Approve	Disapprove
9/15-24/25	0	50	50
7/7-16/25	-2	49	51
5/5-15/25	6	53	47
3/17-27/25	8	54	46
1/27-2/6/25	2	51	49
12/2-11/24	-4	48	52
10/1-10/24	-10	45	55
7/24-8/1/24	-14	43	57
5/6-15/24	-22	39	61
3/18-28/24	-6	47	53
2/5-15/24	-20	40	60
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job?

There are substantial partisan differences in views of the Supreme Court, with Republicans much more approving (81%) than independents (43%) or Democrats (19%). The trend in approval by party identification is shown in Table 6. Republicans have generally become more positive toward the Court since early 2024, while Democrats have generally become more negative. Independents have held consistently negative views of the Court, though they have become less negative over the last two years.

Table 6: United States Supreme Court approval, by party ID

Among adults

Poll dates	Approval
	Net	Approve	Disapprove
Republican
9/15-24/25	62	81	19
7/7-16/25	62	81	19
5/5-15/25	56	78	22
3/17-27/25	58	79	21
1/27-2/6/25	68	84	16
12/2-11/24	48	74	26
10/1-10/24	36	68	32
7/24-8/1/24	34	67	33
5/6-15/24	14	57	43
3/18-28/24	28	64	36
Independent
9/15-24/25	-14	43	57
7/7-16/25	-10	45	55
5/5-15/25	-14	43	57
3/17-27/25	-10	45	55
1/27-2/6/25	-8	46	54
12/2-11/24	-8	46	54
10/1-10/24	-18	41	59
7/24-8/1/24	-22	39	61
5/6-15/24	-48	26	74
3/18-28/24	-24	38	62
Democrat
9/15-24/25	-62	19	81
7/7-16/25	-64	18	82
5/5-15/25	-38	31	69
3/17-27/25	-38	31	69
1/27-2/6/25	-62	19	81
12/2-11/24	-58	21	79
10/1-10/24	-54	23	77
7/24-8/1/24	-58	21	79
5/6-15/24	-54	23	77
3/18-28/24	-38	31	69
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job?

Twenty-two percent say they have heard or read a lot about the Court over the last month, 61% have heard a little, and 18% have heard nothing at all. Attention is down from July, following the late-June flurry of major decisions, when 34% had heard a lot about the court. Table 7 shows the attention cycle over the last year, peaking in the summer and declining in fall and winter.

Table 7: Attention to news about the Supreme Court

Among adults

Poll dates	Hear or read about the Court
	A lot	A little	Nothing at all
9/15-24/25	22	61	18
7/7-16/25	34	51	15
5/5-15/25	25	60	15
3/17-27/25	25	63	12
1/27-2/6/25	17	68	14
12/2-11/24	17	64	18
10/1-10/24	19	61	20
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: Thinking about the last month only, how much have you heard or read about the U.S. Supreme Court?

Those who hear more news about the Court tend more to be disapproving, while the group of those who have heard the least is most approving, as shown in Table 8.

Table 8: Approval, by attention to news about the Supreme Court

Among adults

Heard about Court	Approval
	Approve	Disapprove
A lot	35	65
A little	52	48
Nothing at all	62	38
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job?
Question: Thinking about the last month only, how much have you heard or read about the U.S. Supreme Court?

There are modest partisan differences in attention to news about the Court, with 16% of Republicans who heard a lot, compared to 19% of independents and 29% of Democrats. Among independents and Democrats, those who hear less are more approving than those who hear more. For Republicans, who are strongly approving regardless of attention, the pattern is inconsistent. These results are shown in Table 9.

Table 9: Attention to news and approval of the Court, by party ID

Among adults

Heard about Court	Approval
	Net	Approve	Disapprove
Republican
A lot	54	77	23
A little	70	85	15
Nothing at all	46	73	27
Independent
A lot	-48	26	74
A little	-14	43	57
Nothing at all	14	57	43
Democrat
A lot	-76	12	88
A little	-64	18	82
Nothing at all	-8	46	54
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job?
Question: Thinking about the last month only, how much have you heard or read about the U.S. Supreme Court?

Favorability to Chief Justice Roberts

In keeping with the generally low attention to news about the Court, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., is unfamiliar to 55%, who say they haven’t heard enough about him to have a favorable or unfavorable opinion. The question did not identify Roberts as the Chief Justice but presented his name in a list along with political leaders. Roberts is viewed favorably by 17% and unfavorably by 28%. Republicans are less familiar with Roberts than are Democrats, though on balance Republicans are favorable, while Democrats and independents are unfavorable, as shown in Table 10.

Table 10: Favorability to John G. Roberts, Jr., by party identification

Among adults

Party ID	Favorability
	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough
Republican	28	13	59
Independent	10	34	55
Democrat	7	43	50
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: [John G. Roberts, Jr.] Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people or haven’t you heard enough yet to have an opinion?

Roberts is viewed positively by respondents who identify themselves as either very or somewhat conservative, and is viewed unfavorably by self-described moderates and those who are somewhat or very liberal. There is modest variation in familiarity with Roberts by ideological identification, with between 49% and 58% saying they haven’t heard enough to have an opinion. This relationship is shown in Table 11.

Table 11: Favorability to John G. Roberts, Jr., by ideological identification

Among adults

Ideological identification	Favorability
	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough
Very conservative	30	18	52
Somewhat conservative	30	11	58
Moderate	10	34	57
Somewhat liberal	7	42	52
Very liberal	5	46	49
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: [John G. Roberts, Jr.] Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people or haven’t you heard enough yet to have an opinion?
Question: Generally speaking, how would you describe your political views?

Upcoming cases before the Court

As the Court begins its new term on Oct. 6, it has a number of cases set for argument. In one case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held the president’s power to impose tariffs on imports to be substantially more limited than the government has maintained. Asked whether the Supreme Court should uphold this limitation on presidential power, 61% say the decision should be upheld, while 39% say the decision should be overturned. Republicans are strongly in favor of overturning this ruling, 69%, while 75% of independents and 88% of Democrats want the ruling upheld.

Opinion about this case is also related to beliefs about whether tariffs help or hurt the economy. Within each partisan category, those who think tariffs help the economy are more in favor of overturning the appeals court decision, while those who think tariffs hurt the economy are more likely to want the Supreme Court to uphold the limits on presidential authority, as shown in Table 12.

Table 12: Limiting president’s tariff power, by economic effect of tariffs and by party ID

Among adults

Economic impact of tariffs	Uphold or overturn limits on tariff power
	Uphold the appeals court ruling that limits the president’s authority to impose tariffs	Overturn the appeals court ruling and hold that the President has the authority to set tariffs
Republican
Helps U.S. economy	12	88
Doesn’t make much difference	37	63
Hurts U.S. economy	70	30
Independent
Helps U.S. economy	37	63
Doesn’t make much difference	62	38
Hurts U.S. economy	85	15
Democrat
Helps U.S. economy	44	56
Doesn’t make much difference	56	44
Hurts U.S. economy	93	6
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: A federal appeals court has issued a ruling that substantially limits the president’s authority to impose tariffs on imports to the United States. This decision has been appealed to the Supreme Court. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule?
Question: In general, do you think imposing tariffs or fees on products imported from other countries helps the U.S. economy, hurts the economy, or doesn’t make much of a difference either way?

Another appeals court ruled that the president exceeded his authority under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law, in ordering the deportation of some Venezuelans in the U.S. illegally. Fifty-six percent say the Supreme Court should uphold this ruling, and 44% think it should overturn the appeals court decision. A majority of Republicans, 77%, think the appeals court ruling should be overturned, while majorities of independents, 68%, and Democrats, 86%, think it should be upheld.

Seventy-six percent of those who approve of how Trump is handling immigration favor overturning the appeals court ruling, while those who disapprove of Trump’s immigration policies strongly favor upholding the ruling, 82%. This relationship remains strong within categories of partisanship, as shown in Table 13.

Table 13: Hold president lacked authority under the Alien Enemies Act to order certain deportations, by approval of Trump on immigration and by party ID

Among adults

Trump approval on immigration	Uphold or overturn limits on deportation authority
	Uphold the appeals court ruling that the president exceeded his authority	Overturn the appeals court ruling and hold that the president can invoke the Alien Enemies Act
Republican
Approve	13	87
Disapprove	66	34
Independent
Approve	60	40
Disapprove	71	29
Democrat
Approve	61	39
Disapprove	90	10
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: A federal appeals court has issued a ruling that the president exceeded his authority under the Alien Enemies Act in ordering the deportation of some Venezuelans in the U.S. illegally. This decision is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule?
Question: [Immigration] Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling each of the following issues?

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments asking whether state laws that prohibit transgender girls and women from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause. Sixty-two percent think the Court should rule these laws are constitutional, while 38% think the Court should rule the laws are unconstitutional as a violation of equal protection.

Majorities of Republicans, 81%, and independents, 57%, think the Court should uphold these laws, while a majority of Democrats, 56%, think they should be struck down.

In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that federal civil rights laws protect gay and transgender workers from job discrimination, a ruling that is favored by 79% and opposed by 21%. A majority of those favoring the anti-job-discrimination ruling nonetheless favor upholding state bans on transgender girls and women participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams, 60%. A larger percentage, 71%, of those opposed to the anti-discrimination ruling favor upholding the state bans.

The Court has scheduled arguments in a case asking whether the creation of a second majority Black congressional district in Louisiana is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander or whether it is properly required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Forty-eight percent say the Court should rule this is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, while 52% say it is properly required by the Voting Rights Act.

There is a partisan divide in views of this case, with 64% of Republicans saying the creation of a Black district is unconstitutional. A small majority of independents, 55%, think it is proper under the Voting Rights Act, as do a larger majority of Democrats, 68%.

There are differences of opinion by race and ethnicity on this issue as well, as shown in Table 14. A small majority of white respondents say creating Black majority districts is racial gerrymandering, while majorities of Black and Hispanic respondents say the districts are required by the Voting Rights Act. Those of other or multiple races are evenly divided.

Table 14: Creation of Black-majority districts, by race and ethnicity

Among adults

Race and ethnicity	Creation of Black-majority districts
	The creation of a second majority-Black district is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander	The second majority-Black district is required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965
White	54	46
Black	32	68
Hispanic	40	60
Other/Multiple	49	51
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case asking whether the creation of a second majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, or whether, instead, it was properly required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule?

Confidence in institutions

Confidence in several institutions is summarized in Table 15. The police have the highest net (high confidence minus low confidence) ratings, followed at some distance by the FBI. The Federal Reserve Board has a slightly positive net rating, while the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of Justice are mildly negative. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a substantially net negative rating.

Table 15: Confidence in institutions

Among adults

Institution	Confidence
	Net high-low	Great deal/quite a lot	Some	Very little/None at all
The police	25	45	35	20
The FBI	6	35	36	29
The Federal Reserve Board	2	29	45	26
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)	-7	28	37	35
The U.S. Department of Justice	-8	27	38	35
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)	-17	31	22	47
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: Here is a list of institutions in American society. How much confidence do you have in each one?

Confidence in the Federal Reserve Board, the CDC, and ICE has not been asked in previous Marquette polls, while questions about the police, FBI, and Department of Justice allow comparisons over time.

Confidence in the police has remained quite positive since 2020, with small fluctuations, as shown in Table 16.

Table 16: Confidence in the police

Among adults

Poll dates	Confidence
	Net high-low	Great deal/quite a lot	Some	Very little/None at all
9/8-15/20	30	49	32	19
9/7-14/22	31	51	28	20
11/15-22/22	27	48	30	21
1/9-20/23	29	50	29	21
3/13-22/23	21	44	33	23
9/15-24/25	25	45	35	20
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: [The police] Here is a list of institutions in American society. How much confidence do you have in each one?

Confidence in the FBI is slightly higher than in January 2025, though lower than from September 2022 to January 2023, as shown in Table 17.

Table 17: Confidence in the FBI

Among adults

Poll dates	Confidence
	Net high-low	Great deal/quite a lot	Some	Very little/None at all
9/7-14/22	18	44	30	26
11/15-22/22	12	39	34	27
1/9-20/23	11	39	32	28
3/13-22/23	3	34	35	31
12/2-11/24	2	32	38	30
1/27-2/6/25	-1	29	42	30
9/15-24/25	6	35	36	29
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: [The FBI] Here is a list of institutions in American society. How much confidence do you have in each one?

Confidence in the U.S. Department of Justice has been consistently net negative since 2023, and is slightly less negative than in January 2025, as shown in Table 18.

Table 18: Confidence in the U.S. Department of Justice

Among adults

Poll dates	Confidence
	Net high-low	Great deal/quite a lot	Some	Very little/None at all
7/7-12/23	-16	25	34	41
9/18-25/23	-5	30	35	35
11/2-7/23	-8	27	38	35
2/5-15/24	-13	25	36	38
3/18-28/24	-9	27	37	36
5/6-15/24	-15	23	39	38
12/2-11/24	-10	24	41	34
1/27-2/6/25	-14	22	41	36
9/15-24/25	-8	27	38	35
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: [The U.S. Department of Justice] Here is a list of institutions in American society. How much confidence do you have in each one?

Perceived ideological leaning of the Court

In September, 22% say they would describe the Supreme Court as “very conservative,” 38% would describe it as “somewhat conservative,” 32% would call the Court “moderate,” 7% see the Court as “somewhat liberal,” and 2% believe it is “very liberal.”

Views of the Court have shifted to the right since 2019, with fewer seeing the Court as moderate and more as conservative or very conservative, as shown in Table 19. The shift in perceptions is most apparent in May and July 2022, around the time of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe vs Wade.

Table 19: Perceived ideological leaning of the Court, 2019-2025

Among adults

Poll dates	Perceived ideology
	Very conservative	Somewhat conservative	Moderate	Somewhat liberal	Very liberal
9/15-24/25	22	38	32	7	2
7/7-16/25	25	37	27	8	3
10/1-10/24	24	35	32	7	2
7/24-8/1/24	28	30	32	7	3
5/6-15/24	25	32	31	10	2
3/18-28/24	25	32	33	8	3
2/5-15/24	21	34	33	7	5
11/2-7/23	21	35	32	7	5
9/18-25/23	20	37	32	7	3
7/7-12/23	27	35	28	7	3
5/8-18/23	24	33	30	10	3
3/13-22/23	23	35	34	6	2
1/9-20/23	22	37	31	8	2
11/15-22/22	25	36	32	6	2
9/7-14/22	29	35	27	5	3
7/5-12/22	34	33	21	7	3
5/9-19/22	23	33	34	8	2
3/14-24/22	15	37	36	10	2
1/10-21/22	17	38	35	8	2
11/1-10/21	15	35	39	8	1
9/7-16/21	16	35	40	7	2
7/16-26/21	13	37	42	6	1
9/8-15/20	5	30	54	9	2
9/3-13/19	5	33	50	9	3
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025
Question: In general, would you describe each of the following… The U.S. Supreme Court

About the Marquette Law School Poll

The survey was conducted Sept. 15-24, 2025, interviewing 1,043 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.3 percentage points.

Interviews were conducted using the SSRS Opinion Panel, a national probability sample with interviews conducted online. Certain other data from this survey (focusing on views of the Trump administration and policy issues) were released previously, on October 1. The detailed methodology statement, survey instrument, topline results, and crosstabs for this release are available on the Marquette Law Poll website.

Wording of questions about recent and pending Supreme Court cases

These items do not attempt to exactly frame the particular issues in specific cases but rather address the topic in more general terms.

The wording of questions about cases includes:

Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia

• In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that a federal civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?

Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J.

• The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case asking whether state laws that prohibit transgender girls and women from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause.

Louisiana v. Callais

• The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case asking whether the creation of a second majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, or whether, instead, it was properly required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Learning Resources v. Trump

• A federal appeals court has issued a ruling that substantially limits the president’s authority to impose tariffs on imports to the United States. This decision has been appealed to the Supreme Court.

W.M.M. v. Trump, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

• A federal appeals court has issued a ruling that the president exceeded his authority under the Alien Enemies Act in ordering the deportation of some Venezuelans in the U.S. illegally. This decision is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court.