New Marquette Law School Poll survey of Wisconsin finds close races in Senate and governor primaries and in November final elections, with enthusiasm for voting gap favoring Republicans

MILWAUKEE – A new Marquette Law School Poll survey of Wisconsin finds close races shaping up in both Republican and Democratic gubernatorial and U.S. Senate primaries in August, as well as in the November U.S. Senate race. The poll also finds that incumbent Gov. Tony Evers has an early advantage in the general election for governor.

In the first Marquette Law School Poll conducted since he entered the race in April, Tim Michels is the choice of 27% of Republicans (including independents who lean Republican) and independents who say they will vote in the GOP primary for governor. Rebecca Kleefisch is supported by 26%, Kevin Nicholson is supported by 10%, Tim Ramthun is the choice of 3%, and Adam Fischer is supported by less than 0.5%. A substantial 32% of Republican primary voters remain undecided, down from 46% who were undecided in the Marquette Law School Poll conducted in April.

In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, Mandela Barnes receives support of 25% and Alex Lasry is supported by 21% among Democrats (including independents who lean Democratic) and independents who say they will vote in the Democratic primary. Sarah Godlewski is the choice of 9%, and Tom Nelson holds 7%. The other seven candidates received 1% or less support.

Many Democratic primary voters remain undecided, with 36% saying they don’t know how they will vote, which is less than the 48% who were undecided in the April survey.

The survey was conducted June 14-20, 2022, interviewing 803 Wisconsin registered voters, with a margin of error of +/-4.3 percentage points. The margin of error for Democratic primary voters is 6.2 percentage points and for Republican primary voters is 6.3 percentage points.

Table 1 shows the trends in support for the Republican primary for governor since February. (All results in the tables are stated as percentages; the precise wording of the questions can be found in the online link noted at the top.)

Table 1: Republican primary preferences, U.S. Senate, February-June 2022

Primary choiceJuneAprilFebruary
Michels27NANA
Kleefisch263230
Nicholson10108
Ramthun345
Other231
Fischer*NANA
Will not vote031
Don’t know324654
Refused012
* indicates less than .5% but more than 0

Table 2 shows the trends in support for the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate since February.

Table 2: Democratic primary preferences, U.S. Senate, February-June 2022

Primary choiceJuneAprilFebruary
Barnes251923
Lasry211613
Godlewski973
Nelson755
Peckarsky110
Olikara*00
Lewis*12
Murphy**2
Lee000
Rumbaugh000
Williams0**
BattinoNANA1
Will not vote033
Don’t know364848
Refused011
* indicates less than .5% but more than 0


General election for governor

For the first time in the 2022 election cycle, this poll asked about possible November general election pairings for governor, matching incumbent Gov. Tony Evers against each of the top four Republican primary candidates. These results are shown in Table 3 (a) through Table 3 (d). Evers is supported by 47% to Kleefisch’s 43%, and Evers gets 48% to Michels’ 41%. Against Nicholson, Evers receives 48% to 40%. Evers holds a 51% to 34% margin over Ramthun. Here, and in subsequent tables, candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

Table 3: November general election for governor

(a) Evers vs. Kleefisch

Poll datesEversKleefischSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t knowRefused
6/14-20/2247431271

(b) Evers vs. Michels

Poll datesEversMichelsSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t knowRefused
6/14-20/2248412181

(c) Evers vs. Nicholson

Poll datesEversNicholsonSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t knowRefused
6/14-20/2248401181

(d) Evers vs. Ramthun

Poll datesEversRamthunSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t knowRefused
6/14-20/22513421111

General election for U.S. Senate

The November race for U.S. Senate will match incumbent Republican Sen. Ron Johnson against the winner of the August Democratic primary. This poll paired each of the top four primary candidates against Johnson. This is the first such matchup in the Marquette Law School Poll this cycle. These results are shown in Table 4 (a) through Table 4 (b). Johnson slightly trails three of the four Democrat candidates polled, including 46%-44% against Barnes, 45%-43% against Godlewski, and 44%-43% against Nelson. Previewing a possible matchup with Lasry, Johnson slightly leads in support, 45%-42%.

Table 4: November general election for U.S. Senate

(a) Johnson vs. Barnes

Poll datesJohnsonBarnesSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t knowRefused
6/14-20/2244461171


(b) Johnson vs. Godlewski

Poll datesJohnsonGodlewskiSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t knowRefused
6/14-20/2243452191

(c) Johnson vs. Lasry

Poll datesJohnsonLasrySomeone elseWould not voteDon’t knowRefused
6/14-20/22454221101

(d) Johnson vs. Nelson

Poll datesJohnsonNelsonSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t knowRefused
6/14-20/22434421101

Favorability of the primary candidates

Table 5 shows the favorability ratings of the top four Republican candidates for governor and the percentage with no opinion (i.e., those saying they haven’t heard enough or don’t know how they feel about the candidate). Michels and Kleefisch have essentially equally positive net favorable ratings from GOP primary voters, with Nicholson about half as net favorable. Ramthun has a net negative favorability rating. Among these candidates, 46% or more of Republican voters say they don’t have an opinion of each, less than two months before the primary on Aug. 9.

Table 5: Favorability of Republican primary candidates, among Republican primary voters

CandidateNetFavorable opinionUnfavorableNo opinion
Kleefisch34441046
Michels3542751
Nicholson1927865
Ramthun-371084

Favorability of the Democratic primary candidates for governor among Democratic primary voters is shown in Table 6. Barnes has the highest net favorability, followed by Lasry, Godlewski, and Nelson. In each instance, over 50% of Democratic primary voters say they don’t have an opinion of the candidates

Table 6: Favorability to Democratic primary candidates, among Democratic primary voters

CandidateNetFavorableUnfavorableNo opinion
Barnes3841356
Godlewski1724769
Lasry2231960
Nelson412879

Partisanship and vote choice in the November general elections

The tables below — 7(a) through 7 (d) — show the votes for governor overall and by party identification. Vote choice is strongly structured by partisanship in these matchups, with 90% or more of Democrats supporting Evers and between 70% and 83% of Republicans supporting the GOP candidate. Independents favor Evers in each of these pairings, although a substantial percentage of independents say they don’t know how they will vote. In these currently hypothetical matchups, Republicans are a bit more likely not to express a vote choice than are Democrats.

Table 7: November general election for governor

(a) Evers vs. Kleefisch

GroupEversKleefischSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
Total4743127
Republican780229
Independent39306815
Democrat907003

(b) Evers vs. Michels

GroupEversMichelsSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
Total4841218
Republican783118
Independent36189528
Democrat943003

(c) Evers vs. Nicholson

GroupEversNicholsonSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
Total4840118
Republican980109
Independent302361128
Democrat933003

(d) Evers vs. Ramthun

GroupEversRamthunSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
Total51342111
Republican13702113
Independent43128430
Democrat932014

Turning to the U.S. Senate race, the next set of tables — 8 (a) through 8 (d) — shows the votes for U.S. Senate, overall and by party identification. In these pairings, Republicans give Johnson 83% to 87% support, while Democrats back their party’s candidates at 86% to 91% rates. Independents vary in support, preferring Barnes by 1 percentage point and Johnson by from 2 to 8 percentage points in the other pairings. As in the race for governor, many more independents are undecided in their vote for U.S. Senate than are Republicans or Democrats.

Table 8: November general election for U.S. Senate

(a) Johnson vs. Barnes

GroupJohnsonBarnesSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
Total4446117
Republican866007
Independent282911524
Democrat591004

(b) Johnson vs. Godlewski

GroupJohnsonGodlewskiSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
Total4345219
Republican837008
Independent302314426
Democrat589005

(c) Johnson vs. Lasry

GroupJohnsonLasrySomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
Total45422110
Republican874108
Independent302212528
Democrat686106

(d) Johnson vs. Nelson

GroupJohnsonNelsonSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
Total43442110
Republican856108
Independent242211734
Democrat589105

Enthusiasm to vote

The poll finds that in June there is a significant difference by party in enthusiasm to vote, with 67% of Republicans saying they are very enthusiastic and 58% of Democrats saying the same. Independents are considerably less enthusiastic, with 35% very enthusiastic. In past surveys, enthusiasm was closely linked to being a “likely voter,” as shown also in Table 9.

Table 9: Likely voters (i.e., those saying they are certain to vote), by enthusiasm, 2014-2020

EnthusiasticLikely VoterNot Likely
Very937
Somewhat6436
Not too4355
Not at all3960

Enthusiasm has varied by party, with modest Republican advantages in October 2021 and February 2022, but no difference by party in April 2022. Table 10 shows the trend in enthusiasm over the last four Marquette Law School Poll surveys of Wisconsin.

Table 10: Enthusiasm to vote in November, by party identification, October 2021-June 2022

(a) June 2022

Party IDVerySomewhatNot tooNot at all
Republican672076
Independent3535820
Democrat582695

(b) April 2022

Party IDVerySomewhatNot tooNot at all
Republican572499
Independent35321514
Democrat572768

(c) February 2022

Party IDVerySomewhatNot tooNot at all
Republican5822117
Independent43301014
Democrat5625125

(d) October 2021

Party IDVerySomewhatNot tooNot at all
Republican632196
Independent43221023
Democrat592595

This enthusiasm gap is large enough to shift the vote margins significantly in hypothetical November general elections. Table 11 shows the effect of enthusiasm on the margins in the race for governor. By definition, the results for all registered voters reflect a very high turnout, those for both “very” and “somewhat” enthusiastic voters reflect an intermediate turnout, and the results for only those who are “very enthusiastic” reflect a lower turnout.

Table 11: Vote for governor, by potential turnout in November

(a) Evers vs. Kleefisch

GroupEversKleefischSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
High Turnout4743127
Intermediate Turnout4744115
Low Turnout4547115

(b) Evers vs. Michels

GroupEversMichelsSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
High Turnout4841218
Intermediate Turnout4843116
Low Turnout4647115

(c) Evers vs. Nicholson

GroupEversNicholsonSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
High Turnout4840118
Intermediate Turnout4743107
Low Turnout4546016

(d) Evers vs. Ramthun

GroupEversRamthunSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
High Turnout51342111
Intermediate Turnout51361110
Low Turnout4840119

Table 12 shows the effect of potential turnout on the margins in the race for U.S. Senate.

Table 12: Vote for U.S. Senate, by potential turnout in November

(a) Johnson vs. Barnes

GroupJohnsonBarnesSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
High Turnout4446117
Intermediate Turnout4647106
Low Turnout4845104


(b) Johnson vs. Godlewski

GroupJohnsonGodlewskiSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
High Turnout4345219
Intermediate Turnout4446107
Low Turnout4744116

(c) Johnson vs. Lasry

GroupJohnsonLasrySomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
High Turnout45422110
Intermediate Turnout4544108
Low Turnout4843107

(d) Johnson vs. Nelson

GroupJohnsonNelsonSomeone elseWould not voteDon’t know
High Turnout43442110
Intermediate Turnout4445118
Low Turnout4744116

Enthusiasm is strongly related to age, making for an older electorate in November if the current enthusiasm gap by age remains unchanged. Table 13 shows enthusiasm to vote by age in the June survey.

Table 13: Enthusiasm to vote, by age, June 2022

AgeVerySomewhatNot tooNot at all
18-2927352217
30-394335814
40-49582967
50-59701684
60-69791441
70+702243

Direction of the state, job approval, and favorability

The percentage saying Wisconsin is headed in the right direction barely changed from April to June. In the new poll, 37% say the state is heading in the right direction and 56% say it is off on the wrong track. In April, 36% said the state was going in the right direction and 56% said it was on the wrong track. The trend in right direction or wrong track is shown in Table 14.

Table 14: Wisconsin headed in right direction or wrong track, 2019-22

Poll datesRight directionWrong trackDon’t knowRefused
1/16-20/195733100
4/3-7/19524080
8/25-29/19553780
10/13-17/19533971
1/8-12/20464761
2/19-23/20523980
3/24-29/20613091
8/3-8/21395290
10/26-31/21415171
2/22-27/22395381
4/19-24/22365670
6/14-20/22375660

Approval of Evers’ handling of his job as governor stands at 48% in June, with disapproval at 45%, little changed from the result of 49% approval to 43% disapproval in April. The full trend for Evers’ approval is shown in Table 15.

Table 15: Evers job approval, 2019-22

DatesApproveDisapproveDon’t knowRefusedDatesApproveDisapproveDon’t knowRefused
1/16-20/1939223816/14-18/20543861
4/3-7/1947371508/4-9/20573760
8/25-29/1954341018/30-9/3/20514352
10/13-17/1952341319/30-10/4/20524251
11/13-17/19474210110/21-25/20504370
12/3-8/1950381118/3-8/21504370
1/8-12/2051409010/26-31/21454681
2/19-23/2051381012/22-27/22504181
3/24-29/206529614/19-24/22494371
5/3-7/205933716/14-20/22484561

In this June poll, President Joe Biden’s approval falls to 40%, with 57% disapproval, his lowest approval rating in the Marquette Law School Poll since taking office. In April 2022, 43% approved and 53% disapproved of Biden’s job performance. Biden’s approval among Wisconsin voters in Marquette Law School Poll surveys during his presidency is shown in Table 16.

Table 16: Biden job approval, 2021-22

Poll datesApproveDisapproveDon’t knowRefused
8/3-8/21494640
10/26-31/21435341
2/22-27/22435232
4/19-24/22435331
6/14-20/22405730

Sen. Johnson’s favorability rating changed little in June, with 37% viewing him favorably, 46% viewing him unfavorably, and 16% saying they haven’t heard enough about him or don’t know how they felt. In April, 36% were favorable, 46% were unfavorable, and 18% lacked an opinion of Johnson. The trend in Johnson’s favorability since 2013 is shown in Table 17.

Table 17: Johnson favorability, 2013-22

Poll datesFavorableUnfavorableHaven’t heard enoughDon’t knowRefused
3/11-13/1330254040
5/6-9/1333253740
10/21-24/1329333530
1/20-23/1431253850
3/20-23/1429274040
7/17-20/1429294020
8/21-24/1439253141
10/23-26/1433303151
4/7-10/1532293450
8/13-16/1530313530
9/24-28/1527363340
11/12-15/1527383320
1/21-24/1626333741
2/18-21/1629333530
3/24-28/1632313420
6/9-12/1633313320
7/7-10/1634353020
8/4-7/1634323120
8/25-28/1633343021
9/15-18/1634362820
10/6-9/1641332320
Poll datesFavorableUnfavorableHaven’t heard enoughDon’t knowRefused
10/26-31/1641381740
3/13-16/1739342331
6/22-25/1739322630
2/25-3/1/1840302540
6/13-17/1839342150
7/11-15/1840361671
8/15-19/1840302541
9/12-16/1838322460
10/3-7/1841322151
10/24-28/1839302461
1/16-20/1944282350
4/3-7/1940322450
8/25-29/1940292560
10/13-17/1940292460
11/13-17/1939292470
12/3-8/1936342641
1/8-12/2039292830
2/19-23/2037342451
3/24-29/2035322940
5/3-7/2038342351
6/14-18/2035322930
8/4-9/2033352740
8/30-9/3/2032362850
9/30-10/4/2035312770
10/21-25/2038362331
8/3-8/2135422030
10/26-31/2136421840
2/22-27/2233451741
4/19-24/2236461440
6/14-20/2237461420


Concern about issues

Inflation remained the issue voters say they are most concerned about, with 75% saying they are very concerned. In April, 69% were very concerned about inflation.

Fifty-eight percent say they are very concerned about abortion policy, while 56% are very concerned about gun violence. Concern about healthcare is rated somewhat lower, with 47% very concerned, while concern about coronavirus has fallen to its low point of the year, with 18% very concerned. The full set of responses is shown in Table 18.

Table 18: Issue concerns, June 2022

IssueVery concernedSomewhat concernedNot too concernedNot at all concerned
Inflation752041
Abortion policy582489
Gun violence562689
Healthcare4736125
Coronavirus18272331

There has been little change among preferences in abortion policy in recent years, with 27% in this survey saying abortion should be legal in all cases and 31% saying it should be legal in most cases. Meanwhile, 11% say it should be illegal in all cases and 24% say it should be illegal in most cases. That represents a small increase in the percent favoring the legality of abortion in all cases and a similar decline in the percent say abortion should be legal in most cases, while the other categories changed little. The full trend on this question is shown in Table 19.

Table 19: Abortion policy preference, 2012-2022

Poll datesLegal in all casesLegal in most casesIllegal in most casesIllegal in all casesDon’t knowRefused
9/13-16/122634231331
9/27-30/122535231231
10/11-14/122534251231
10/25-28/122832231241
10/21-24/132636251021
10/23-26/142434241531
7/11-15/182736181162
9/12-16/18263621962
10/24-28/182629241442
2/19-23/201837221563
10/26-31/212338231141
6/14-20/222731241152

Gun policy

Eighty-one percent support “red-flag laws,” which allow police to take guns away from people found by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others, while 13% oppose such laws. Support is unchanged since August 2019, when this question was last asked and 12% were opposed.

Mandatory background checks on people making gun purchases at gun shows or through private sales are supported by 79%, with 16% opposed. In August 2019, 80% supported such background checks and 16% were opposed.

A smaller majority, 56%, support raising the minimum age for gun purchases to 21, while 38% would keep the minimum age at 18. This is the first time this question has been asked in the Marquette Law School Poll.

Transgender issues

A little less than half of the respondents, 44%, say they know someone who identifies as transgender, while 55% do not. This percentage varies strongly by age, as shown in Table 20.

Table 20: Know someone who is transgender, by age

AgeYes, know someoneNo, do not know anyoneDon’t know
18-2964360
30-4456440
45-5941571
60+31673

Forty-six percent say they favor laws that ban discrimination based on whether a person is transgender, while 39% oppose such laws and 13% say they don’t know.

Participation on sports teams that match an athlete’s current gender identity is supported by 22% of respondents, while 62% say athletes should only be allowed to compete on teams that match their birth gender and 14% don’t know.

Water safety issues

Asked about their level of concern over the safety of the water supply in their community,  20% say they are very concerned, 23% somewhat concerned, 27% not too concerned, and 30% not at all concerned. Concern was higher among residents of the City of Milwaukee, where 33% are very concerned, compared to 18% in all other regions of the state.

Concern about water contamination from the long-lasting chemical PFAS was somewhat higher than concern over the water supply in general. Thirty-one percent are very concerned about PFAS contamination, and 30% are somewhat concerned, while 16% are not too concerned and 18% are not at all concerned over PFAS.

A majority of respondents, 66%, see water quality issues as a statewide concern, while 24% see it as an issue in only isolated parts of the state.

Confidence in the accuracy the 2020 presidential election result

There has been little change in confidence in the accuracy of the 2020 presidential election result in recent months, with 67% saying they are very or somewhat confident that votes were accurately cast and counted in Wisconsin and 32% not too confident or not at all confident. The full trend since August 2021 is shown in Table 21.

Table 21: Confidence in the accuracy of the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin, August 2021-June 2022

Poll datesVery confidentSomewhat confidentNot too confidentNot at all confidentDon’t know
8/3-8/21481915161
10/26-31/21471812193
2/22-27/22481911192
4/19-24/22481612231
6/14-20/22511611210

A majority of Republicans doubt the results, while a majority of independents and Democrats have confidence in the election results. Confidence by party is shown in Table 22. There is some difference in confidence between Republicans and independents who lean to the Republican party.

Table 22: Confidence in the 2020 election by party identification

Party IDVery confidentSomewhat confidentNot too confidentNot at all confidentDon’t know
Republican132121440
Lean Republican192625281
Independent51193261
Lean Democrat8313140
Democrat905310

About the Marquette Law School Poll

The Marquette Law School Poll is the most extensive statewide polling project in Wisconsin history. This poll interviewed 803 registered Wisconsin voters by landline or cell phone from June 14-20, 2022. The margin of error is +/-4.3 percentage points for the full sample. The margin of error for 369 Democratic primary voters is 6.2 percentage points and for 372 Republican primary voters is 6.3 percentage points.

Some issue items were asked of half the sample. Those on Form A were asked of 401 and have a margin of error of +/-6.2 percentage points. Form B items were asked of 402 and have a margin of error of +/-5.9 percentage points.

Items asked of half-samples include on Form A whether Wisconsin is headed in the right direction or off on the wrong track, concern for inflation, abortion policy, the coronavirus pandemic, gun violence, and healthcare. Form B items included background checks for gun purchases, minimum age to purchase a gun, and red flag laws. Form B also included knowing someone who is transgender, favor or oppose a ban on discrimination against transgender people, and whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete on teams that match their current gender identity.

The partisan makeup of the sample, including those who lean to a party, is 45% Republican, 44% Democratic, and 10% independent. The partisan makeup of the sample, excluding those who lean to a party, is 30% Republican, 29% Democratic, and 41% independent.

Since January 2020, the long-term partisan balance, including those who lean to a party, in the Marquette Law School Poll has been 45% Republican and 44% Democratic, with 9% independent. Partisanship exuding those who lean has been 29% Republican and 28% Democratic, with 41% independent.

The entire questionnaire, methodology statement, full results and breakdowns by demographic groups are available at law.marquette.edu/poll/results-and-data.