Also:

• Less than two months from Supreme Court election, about two-thirds of voters say they are undecided
• Large field of Democratic candidates for governor has no clear leader, most candidates are unknown to many
• Voters have turned against data centers since October, seeing costs as outweighing benefits
• Disapproval of ICE is 56%; 61% say fatal shooting of Alex Pretti was not justified
• Record number say property tax reduction is more important than increased K-12 school funding

MILWAUKEE — A new Marquette Law School Poll survey of Wisconsin registered voters finds that, with six weeks to go until the April 7 Supreme Court election, 66% say they haven’t decided whom they will vote for. Those who have made a decision support Chris Taylor with 17% to Maria Lazar at 12%. Among likely voters, those who say they are certain to vote in April, 22% support Taylor and 15% favor Lazar, with 62% undecided.

Among Democrats, 73% say they are certain to vote in the April 7 court election, while 67% of Republicans and 62% of independents are certain they will vote.

Only 6% say they have heard a lot about the Court race, while 55% have heard a little and 38% have heard nothing at all. In October, 6% had heard a lot, 46% had heard a little, and 47% had heard nothing. This year’s court race contrasts with the 2025 court election when, in February, 39% had heard a lot about the race, 42% had heard a little, and 19% had heard nothing at all.

The survey was conducted Feb. 11-19, 2026, interviewing 818 Wisconsin registered voters, with a margin of error of +/-4.3 percentage points. The sample size for Republican primary voters is 371, with a margin of error of +/-6.4 percentage points. The sample size for Democratic primary voters is 394, with a margin of error of +/-6.3 percentage points.

Registered voters say they haven’t learned enough to have a clear idea of what the candidates in the April 7 election for the Supreme Court stand for. Twenty-one percent are clear about Taylor and 15% are clear about Lazar. There has been some increase in knowledge of the candidates since October, but most voters say they are unclear or haven’t heard enough, as shown in Table 1. (All results in the tables are stated as percentages.)

Table 1: Have a clear idea what Supreme Court candidates stand for

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Clear idea or not
	Have a clear idea	Not clear what candidate stands for	Haven’t heard enough
Lazar
2/11-19/26	15	23	62
10/15-22/25	10	21	69
Taylor
2/11-19/26	21	21	59
10/15-22/25	11	19	69
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: In the election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, do you have a clear idea of what [Maria Lazar][Chris Taylor] stands for, or are you not clear about what she stands for, or have you not heard enough about her yet?

In February 2025, 51% had a clear idea of what candidate Brad Schimel stood for and 41% were clear about candidate Susan Crawford.

A substantial majority now say they haven’t heard enough about either candidate to have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of them. The ability to recognize and give a favorable or unfavorable rating, as well as the ability to recognize the name of each candidate, stands below 30% for both Lazar and Taylor. In each case, the ID recognition and the ability to give an opinion of the candidates is a little higher than in October. Taylor’s net favorable rating is slightly positive, while Lazar’s is slightly negative. In both cases, though, most voters are unable to give a rating, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Favorability of Supreme Court candidates

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Favorability
	Name ID	Net favorable	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough
Lazar
2/11-19/26	22	-4	9	13	77
10/15-22/25	15	-1	7	8	84
Taylor
2/11-19/26	25	5	15	10	74
10/15-22/25	16	-2	7	9	83
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: 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 either a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the candidate. Net favorable is the percentage favorable minus the percentage unfavorable.

In 2025, Schimel, who had served as attorney general, was more familiar to voters with a name ID of 61%, while Crawford’s name ID was 42%. Both had negative net favorability at that point, -3% for Schimel and -4% for Crawford.

As in October, a large majority of voters, 84% in this poll, want judicial candidates to talk about issues so voters know where they stand, while 15% say candidates should avoid giving the appearance of having prejudged cases that may come before them on the court. Here, there is bipartisan agreement, with 83% of Republicans and 88% of Democrats wanting to hear where the candidates stand.

Gubernatorial candidates

Registered voters have generally not heard much about the governor’s election in the second half of the year, with 8% hearing a lot, 58% hearing a little, and 35% hearing nothing at all. In October, 6% had heard a lot and 37% nothing at all.

Most of the gubernatorial candidates are unfamiliar to most voters. Only Mandela Barnes, the former lieutenant governor who was an unsuccessful 2022 U.S. Senate general-election candidate, has a name ID above 50%. Republican candidate U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany is the second best-known of all candidates, with a name ID of 46%. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, State Rep. Francesca Hong, and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley each have name IDs above 25%, while all other candidates are below 25%.

Among all registered voters, all of the candidates for governor have a negative net favorability rating, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Favorability of gubernatorial candidates

Among registered voters

Candidate
	Name ID	Net Fav	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough
Republican Primary
Tom Tiffany	46	-4	21	25	52
Andy Manske	13	-5	4	9	85
Democratic Primary
Mandela Barnes	61	-7	27	34	38
Sara Rodriguez	33	-5	14	19	65
Francesca Hong	29	-1	14	15	69
David Crowley	26	-2	12	14	72
Kelda Roys	22	-2	10	12	77
Missy Hughes	19	-5	7	12	80
Joel Brennan	17	-5	6	11	82
Brett Hulsey	16	-10	3	13	82
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Feb. 11-19, 2026
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 either a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the candidate. Net favorable is the percentage favorable minus the percentage unfavorable.

Barnes’ name ID and favorability/unfavorability ratings are lower than at the end of his 2022 race for the U.S. Senate. In late October 2022, his name ID was 84% and his net favorability was -4%.

Tiffany has gained visibility since June 2023 when the Marquette Law School Poll first asked about him. At that point, his name ID was 25%, with a net favorability of -1%.

There are generally small differences in name recognition by party identification, with some exceptions. Tiffany, Barnes, Rodriguez, and Roys are as well known among Democrats as among Republicans, while less familiar to independents. Hong and Crowley are a little better known to Democrats, while Hughes, Brennan, Hulsey, and Manske are better known to Republicans, though differences are often modest.

Net favorability, however, differs substantially by party, with Republicans net favorable to Republican candidates and net negative to Democratic candidates. Likewise, Democrats are net favorable to their party’s candidates, except for Hulsey, and unfavorable to the Republican candidates. Independents are at least slightly net negative to all candidates except Hughes and Brennan. These results are shown in Table 4.

Table 4: Name ID and favorability, by party identification

Among registered voters

Candidate
	All Name ID	All Net Fav	Reps: Name ID	Inds: Name ID	Dems: Name ID	Reps: Net Fav	Inds: Net Fav	Dems: Net Fav
Republican Primary
Tom Tiffany	46	-4	49	33	48	35	-7	-46
Andy Manske	13	-5	16	4	13	2	-4	-13
Democratic Primary
Mandela Barnes	61	-7	63	43	64	-57	-7	46
Sara Rodriguez	33	-5	36	18	35	-34	-2	27
Francesca Hong	29	-1	29	18	34	-25	-2	26
David Crowley	26	-2	27	17	30	-17	-1	14
Kelda Roys	22	-2	23	13	23	-21	-3	17
Missy Hughes	19	-5	26	12	15	-18	0	7
Joel Brennan	17	-5	22	10	13	-14	4	3
Brett Hulsey	16	-10	21	9	14	-15	-5	-6
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Feb. 11-19, 2026
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 either a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the candidate. Net favorable is the percentage favorable minus the percentage unfavorable.

There is some regional variation in candidate name recognition, the most substantial being that Tiffany has higher name recognition in the north and western media markets of the state, where 59% have an opinion of him. This region substantially overlaps with his 7th Congressional District.

Barnes has a name ID above 50% in each media market of the state, and above 60% in three of the four regions, while Tiffany is below 50% except in the north and west. Crowley is considerably better known in the Milwaukee market than elsewhere, while the other candidates have only moderate variation across markets. These results are shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Name ID, by media market

Among registered voters

Candidate
	All Name ID	Milwaukee market: Name ID	Madison market: Name ID	Green Bay: Name ID	North & Western markets: Name ID
Republican Primary
Tom Tiffany	46	42	41	46	59
Andy Manske	13	14	11	16	13
Democratic Primary
Mandela Barnes	61	62	68	63	51
Sara Rodriguez	33	36	31	38	25
Francesca Hong	29	29	36	35	21
David Crowley	26	40	16	25	14
Kelda Roys	22	22	29	25	14
Missy Hughes	19	18	19	21	18
Joel Brennan	17	21	13	17	12
Brett Hulsey	16	18	15	17	15
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Feb. 11-19, 2026
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 either a favorable or unfavorable 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.

Almost two-thirds of registered voters say they haven’t decided on a candidate in either the Democratic or Republican gubernatorial primaries. For the Republicans, 63% haven’t decided, and for the Democratic primary 65% haven’t picked a candidate.

In the Republican primary, 35% support Tiffany and 2% chose Manske. Manske’s campaign did not file a January finance report with the state ethics commission. Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann withdrew from the primary on Jan. 28.

On the Democratic side, Hong is the choice of 11% and Barnes is supported by 10%. Rodriguez is in third place at 6%, with all others below 5%, as shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Democratic primary vote choice

Among Democratic primary voters

Candidate
	Percent
Haven’t decided	65
Francesca Hong	11
Mandela Barnes	10
Sara Rodriguez	6
David Crowley	3
Joel Brennan	2
Missy Hughes	2
Kelda Roys	1
Brett Hulsey	1
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: In the Democratic primary for Governor, who will you vote for, and please bear with me as I read the 8 candidates] …

Attorney General candidates

Attorney General Josh Kaul is recognized and rated by 45%, with 25% rating him favorably and 20% rating him unfavorably.

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney has a name ID of 25%, with 15% favorable and 10% unfavorable. Kaul narrowly defeated Toney in the 2022 attorney general election.

Name ID and net favorability by party identification are shown in Table 7. While Kaul is better known, both candidates have a net favorability of +5 points. Kaul is about equally well known to Democrats and Republicans, while Toney is better known to Republicans than Democrats. Independents are less familiar with each candidate than are partisans.

Table 7: Attorney General name ID and favorability, by party identification

Among registered voters

Candidate
	All RVs: Name ID	Reps: Name ID	Inds: Name ID	Dems: Name ID	All RVs: Net Fav	Reps: Net Fav	Inds: Net Fav	Dems: Net Fav
Josh Kaul	45	47	32	46	5	-23	8	36
Eric Toney	25	33	10	22	5	27	0	-16
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Here are some people running for attorney general. 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 either a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the candidate. Net favorable is the percentage favorable minus the percentage unfavorable.

Data centers

A majority of voters statewide, 70%, say the costs of large data centers are greater than the benefits they provide, while 29% say the benefits outweigh the costs. This represents a substantial shift against data centers since October, when 55% said the costs outweigh the benefits and 44% said the benefits outweigh the costs.

A large partisan divide has emerged over data centers after only slight partisan differences were present in October. Opinion among Republicans is virtually unchanged, with a small majority saying costs outweigh benefits. But opposition among independents has surged by 21 percentage points, and opposition has increased by 29 percentage points among Democrats. The October question was worded slightly differently by including a mention of Microsoft halting work on a data center, as shown at the bottom of the table. Table 8 compares the partisan breakdowns in February and October.

Table 8: Benefits and costs of data centers, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Benefits vs. costs
	The benefits of the data centers outweigh the costs	The costs of the data centers outweigh the benefits
2/11-19/26
Republican	43	55
Independent	24	76
Democrat	15	85
10/15-22/25
Republican	45	53
Independent	43	55
Democrat	42	56
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Feb. 11-19, 2026
Feb. Question: There are several large data centers being proposed or under construction in Wisconsin. Which comes closer to your opinion, even if neither is exactly right: the benefits of the data centers outweigh the costs or the costs of the data centers outweigh the benefits
Oct. Question: There are several large data centers being proposed or under construction in Wisconsin though Microsoft recently announced it would not build one after facing community opposition. Which comes closer to your opinion, even if neither is exactly right: …

Respondents were asked what they saw as the most important benefits and costs of data centers, choosing up to two positions from five benefits and five costs. Among benefits, “create new jobs for technical workers and others” was most often cited as a benefit, followed by local tax revenues. Construction jobs ranked third, and establishing a new industry in the state was fourth. The least-cited benefit was developing artificial intelligence. Table 9 shows the benefits as chosen by respondents.

Table 9: Benefits of data centers

Among registered voters

Benefit	Benefits chosen
	Chosen
Create new jobs for technical workers and others	44
Provide new tax revenue for local communities	35
Provide construction jobs	25
Establish a new industry in the state	21
Help the U.S. lead the world in artificial intelligence (AI)	18
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: A number of new data centers are proposed or under construction around the state. These come with both costs and benefits. Which TWO of the following do you think are the most important benefits of data centers?

On the cost side, water use was most frequently mentioned, with more than half choosing this, followed by those saying we should not develop artificial intelligence. The effect of data centers on the cost of electricity was well behind the first two and close to the potential for requiring new electric generating plants. The shift from agricultural to industrial land use was the least-mentioned cost of data centers. The most important costs as chosen by respondents are shown in Table 10.

Table 10: Costs of data centers

Among registered voters

Cost	Costs chosen
	Chosen
High water use strains local water resources	52
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not something we should develop	45
Drives up the cost of electricity for everyone else	35
High use of electricity requires building new power plants	31
They replace agricultural or rural land with large industrial buildings	20
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: A number of new data centers are proposed or under construction around the state. These come with both costs and benefits. Which TWO of the following do you think are the most important costs of data centers?

The large majority of voters saw both costs and benefits. However, 22% saw no benefits at all from data centers, while only 4% saw no costs.

The amount that people have read or heard about data centers is not related to the balance of costs and benefits that are perceived. Of those who have heard a lot, 74% say the costs outweigh the benefits, as do 68% of those hearing a little and 73% of those hearing nothing at all. However, 42% of those who have heard a lot see no benefits, while only 17% of those who have heard less see no benefits. Views of data centers are related to opinion of the development of artificial intelligence. Of those who think AI is being developed too quickly, 79% say the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits, compared to 45% of those who say AI is moving at about the right pace or too slowly.

While electricity consumption and potential rate increases have often been mentioned in debate over data centers, only 35% mentioned the cost of electricity as a most important cost, and 31% mentioned increased need for building new power plants—less than the percentages who cited the costs from water use and opposition to AI development.

Concern about the cost of electricity in general is related to the balance of benefits and costs of data centers as seen in Table 11.

Table 11: Benefits and costs of data centers, by concern over cost of electricity

Among registered voters

Electricity cost concern	Benefits vs. costs
	The benefits of the data centers outweigh the costs	The costs of the data centers outweigh the benefits
Very concerned	24	75
Somewhat concerned	33	67
Not too concerned	32	68
Not at all concerned	46	52
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: There are several large data centers being proposed or under construction in Wisconsin. Which comes closer to your opinion, even if neither is exactly right: the benefits of the data centers outweigh the costs or the costs of the data centers outweigh the benefits
Question: [The cost of electricity] How concerned are you about each of the following?

There is only moderate variation in views of data centers by region of the state, with majority opposition in each of five regions, as shown in Table 12.

Table 12: Benefits and costs of data centers by region

Among registered voters

Region	Benefits vs. costs
	The benefits of the data centers outweigh the costs	The costs of the data centers outweigh the benefits
MKE City	19	80
Rest of MKE	37	62
Madison	25	75
Green Bay/ Appleton	32	67
Rest of state	22	75
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: There are several large data centers being proposed or under construction in Wisconsin. Which comes closer to your opinion, even if neither is exactly right: the benefits of the data centers outweigh the costs or the costs of the data centers outweigh the benefits

ICE, Minneapolis shooting, deportations

Wisconsin registered voters have a negative opinion of the way Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, is enforcing immigration laws. Forty-four percent approve and 56% disapprove. Opinion is sharply divided along partisan lines. Among Republicans, 87% approve of how ICE is doing its job, while 76% of independents and 97% of Democrats disapprove, as shown in Table 13.

Table 13: Approval of ICE, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Approval
	Approve	Disapprove
Among all registered voters	44	56
Republican	87	13
Independent	24	76
Democrat	3	97
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: How much do you approve or disapprove of the way U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, is enforcing immigration laws?

Favorability to ICE is slightly lower than approval, with 41% holding a favorable view, 52% with an unfavorable view, and 6% who say they haven’t heard enough about ICE.

On Jan. 24, Alex Pretti was fatally shot by border patrol agents in Minneapolis. In this poll, 36% say the shooting was justified, while 61% say it was not justified. As with views of ICE, there is a large gulf between the opinions of Republicans and those of independents and Democrats, as shown in Table 14.

Table 14: Was Pretti shooting justified, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Justified or not
	Justified	Not justified
Among all registered voters	36	61
Republican	72	24
Independent	22	77
Democrat	2	98
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: As you may know, a man in Minneapolis, Alex Pretti, was recently fatally shot by two U.S. Border Patrol agents. So far as you can tell, do you think this shooting was justified by the circumstances or was it not justified?

Pretti had a concealed carry permit for the gun he was wearing when shot in Minneapolis. Seventy-one percent say he had a constitutional right to possess that gun, while 28% say it should be illegal to possess a gun at a protest. Here, a majority of each partisan group says Pretti had a constitutional right to have the gun with him, though the majority is small among Republicans and large among Democrats, as shown in Table 15.

Table 15: Constitutional right to gun at protest, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Right to possess a gun
	Had a constitutional right to have a gun	Should be illegal to possess a gun at a protest
Among all registered voters	71	28
Republican	56	43
Independent	70	30
Democrat	88	12
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Do you think Alex Pretti had a constitutional right to have a gun with him when protesting against immigration agents or should it be illegal to possess a gun at a protest?

This greater support for Second Amendment rights among Democrats and less support among Republicans contrasts sharply with the October Marquette Law School Poll survey in Wisconsin which found over 90% of Republicans favoring concealed carry while only 59% of Democrats did. This illustrates how malleable even long-held positions can be when political leaders take contrary positions in a given situation. Table 16 shows opinion on concealed carry in the October poll.

Table 16: Concealed carry, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Concealed carry
	Favor	Oppose
Among all registered voters	77	22
Republican	92	8
Independent	76	24
Democrat	59	37
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Oct. 15-22, 2025
Question: Do you favor or oppose Wisconsin’s current law allowing residents to obtain a license to carry concealed handguns?

The announcement that ICE will decrease its presence in Minneapolis came on Feb. 15, after most of the interviews for this poll were completed. Respondents at the time of their interview did not think that the conflict between immigration enforcement agents and the Minneapolis community had decreased since the shooting of Pretti, with 19% saying conflict had decreased, 44% saying it had increased, and 36% saying it had stayed about the same.

A significant majority (64%) of Wisconsin registered voters favor deportation of “immigrants who are living in the United States illegally,” with 36% opposed. Since April 2024, support for deportations in this question in seven Marquette polls has ranged from 56% to 65%, with little trend either up or down.

When the question adds, “even if they have lived here for a number of years, have jobs, and no criminal record?,” those in favor of deportation falls to 40% and opposition rises to 60%. On this question, support for deportations has ranged from 39% to 50% in six polls since July 2024. Support reached 50% in February 2025. The full trends for these questions and the full question wordings are shown in Table 17.

Table 17: Favor or oppose deportations, by question wording

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Favor or oppose
	Favor	Oppose
Deport without qualifications
2/11-19/26	64	36
6/13-19/25	56	43
2/19-26/25	61	38
10/16-24/24	60	39
8/28-9/5/24	65	35
7/24-8/1/24	64	34
4/3-10/24	56	39
Deport with qualifications
2/11-19/26	40	60
6/13-19/25	44	56
2/19-26/25	50	50
10/16-24/24	39	60
8/28-9/5/24	49	51
7/24-8/1/24	44	55
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Do you favor or oppose deporting immigrants who are living in the United States illegally back to their home countries?
Question: Do you favor or oppose deporting immigrants who are living in the United States illegally back to their home countries even if they have lived here for a number of years, have jobs and no criminal record?

Opinion is close to evenly divided on whether most of those being deported have criminal records, with 50% saying they do and 48% saying they do not. As with other questions related to immigration, there is a huge gap in the perceptions of Republicans and Democrats, as shown in Table 18.

Table 18: Deporting criminals, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Deporting criminals or non-criminals
	Mostly deporting immigrants with criminal records	Mostly deporting immigrants who have no criminal records
Among all registered voters	50	48
Republican	83	14
Independent	45	55
Democrat	10	89
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey: Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Do you think the U.S. is (mostly deporting immigrants with criminal records) or (mostly deporting immigrants who have no criminal records)?

Issue concerns

Seventy percent of respondents say they are very concerned about inflation and the cost of living, which makes it the issue drawing the highest level of concern among nine issues included in the poll. Inflation and the cost of living is followed by health insurance, with 61% who are very concerned. Five other issues are virtually tied at 50% or 49%: taxes, abortion policy, jobs and the economy, illegal immigration and border security, and property taxes. Gun violence and the cost of electricity show slightly lower concern at 46%. The full results are shown in Table 19.

Table 19: Issue concerns

Among registered voters

Issue	Concern
	Very concerned	Somewhat concerned	Not too concerned	Not at all concerned
Inflation and the cost of living	70	23	5	2
Health insurance	61	25	11	3
Taxes	50	33	16	2
Abortion policy	50	27	17	5
Jobs and the economy	49	36	11	3
Illegal immigration & border security	49	19	17	15
Property taxes	49	29	17	5
Gun violence	46	21	22	11
The cost of electricity	46	34	16	3
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: How concerned are you about each of the following?

There are substantial partisan differences in issue concerns. Republicans express less concern about six of the nine issues than do Democrats, while they are more concerned about three issues. On the issue of greatest concern among all registered votes, inflation, 57% of Republicans are very concerned, compared to 64% of independents and 86% of Democrats. Republicans are also less concerned about health insurance than are independents or Democrats. However, Republicans are more concerned about illegal immigration, property taxes, and taxes in general than are independents or Democrats. Abortion, jobs and the economy, and gun violence also show less GOP concern. Republicans are only modestly less concerned about the cost of electricity than Democrats or independents. Table 20 shows the percentage very concerned about each issue by party identification.

Table 20: 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	70	-29	57	64	86
Health insurance	61	-24	49	66	73
Taxes	50	15	57	51	42
Abortion policy	50	-26	39	40	65
Jobs and the economy	49	-30	36	40	66
Illegal immigration & border security	49	47	76	22	28
Property taxes	49	23	62	33	39
Gun violence	46	-43	26	44	69
The cost of electricity	46	-9	41	48	51
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: How concerned are you about each of the following?

Most important issue

In addition to level of concern about issues, respondents were asked which one issue is most important to them. Inflation tops this list at 34%. The second most important issue is health insurance, 14%, closely followed by illegal immigration and border security, picked by 13%. The full list is shown in Table 21. (The list of most important issues is somewhat different from the list of issue concerns above for comparability with previous polls.)

Table 21: Most important issue

Among registered voters

Issue
	Percent most important
Inflation and the cost of living	34
Health insurance	14
Illegal immigration and border security	13
Taxes	9
Jobs and the economy	9
Affordability of housing	7
Gun violence	5
Abortion policy	5
Public schools	4
Crime in your community	1
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now?

As with concern about issues in general, there are substantial partisan differences on which issue is most important. Republicans, independents, and Democrats each rate inflation as their most important issue, though fewer Republicans choose this than do Democrats. Health insurance is second most important for independents and Democrats, while immigration and border security is second among Republicans. Taxes are more important to Republicans but less so for independents and Democrats. There is little difference across party in the importance of jobs and the economy. All issues by party are shown in Table 22.

Table 22: 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	34	-16	27	31	43
Health insurance	14	-6	10	16	17
Illegal immigration & border security	13	18	22	10	4
Taxes	9	12	15	6	2
Jobs and the economy	9	1	9	5	9
Affordability of housing	7	-2	5	13	7
Gun violence	5	-6	2	8	8
Abortion policy	5	4	6	6	3
Public schools	4	-5	1	5	6
Crime in your community	1	1	2	1	0
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now?

Forty-three percent say prices of groceries have gone up a lot over the past six months, and 25% say prices have gone up a little, while 21% say they have stayed about the same and 10% say they have gone down a little. Only 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. Independents are more likely than Democrats to say prices have remained about the same, while Democrats are much more likely to see grocery price increases, as shown in Table 23.

Table 23: Change in grocery prices, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Change in prices
	Gone down	Stayed about the same	Gone up
Among all registered voters	11	21	68
Republican	22	36	43
Independent	8	16	76
Democrat	1	6	93
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: How has the price you pay for groceries changed over the last six months?

Those who do grocery shopping for their household are more likely to say prices have increased, 70%, while 54% of those who don’t shop also think prices are up. This is especially true of men, where 62% who shop see price increases and only 46% of those who don’t shop think prices are up. There is a smaller gap of 6 points between women who shop and those who don’t.

In contrast to grocery prices, a sizable 50% say gasoline prices have gone down over the past six months, with 31% saying gas prices have held steady and only 18% saying they have gone up.

Republicans are most likely to say gas prices have declined, followed by independents. Democrats are least likely to say gas prices have gone down, though almost half say they have remained stable. Table 24 shows these responses.

Table 24: Change in gasoline prices, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Change in prices
	Gone down	Stayed about the same	Gone up
Among all registered voters	50	31	18
Republican	72	18	8
Independent	39	33	25
Democrat	28	45	25
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: How has the price you pay for gasoline changed over the last six months?

A majority of respondents, 53%, think President Donald Trump’s policies will increase inflation, while 35% say his policies will decrease inflation and 11% believe they will have no effect on inflation. Here, too, there are substantial partisan differences. A majority of Republicans, 65%, say Trump’s policies will decrease inflation, while 65% of independents and 94% of Democrats think his policies will increase inflation, as seen in Table 25

Table 25: 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	35	53	11
Republican	65	17	17
Independent	24	65	11
Democrat	2	94	3
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Do you think Trump’s policy proposals will decrease inflation, increase inflation, or have no effect on inflation?

Among registered voters, 32% say they are better off than a year ago, while 30% are worse off and 38% say they are about the same. That marks some improvement from February 2025, when 21% said they were better off, 49% were about the same, and 31% were worse off.

Family financial situation is slightly improved from February a year ago, when 46% said they were living comfortably, compared to 50% in the current survey who say they are comfortable. The percent just getting by declined from 41% a year ago to 36% now, but those struggling rose from 12% to 14%.

Asked about the direction of the state, 46% say the state is headed in the right direction, while 53% say it is off on the wrong track. Those saying “right direction” fell to a low of 31% in October 2022 but has improved since. It is still well below Marquette’s all-time high of 61% registered in March 2020, paradoxically at the time of the first shutdowns of the COVID epidemic. Right direction had been consistently in the 50s throughout 2019, levels it has not attained since 2021.

State issues

A majority of voters, 64%, oppose legalizing online sports betting in Wisconsin, while 34% are in favor. Opposition is bipartisan, with 61% of Republicans and 66% of Democrats opposed, as are 74% of independents. Seventy-one percent of those who attend religious services at least weekly are opposed while 62% of those who attend less often are opposed.

The state has been considering who should pay for cleanup of contamination from the long lasting PFAS chemicals in a number of locations around the state. Respondents were asked who should be responsible and could choose as many options as they wished. Three-quarters say businesses that used PFAS and manufacturers should pay for the cleanup, while property owners whose land or water was contaminated by others should not be required to pay. There is broad partisan agreement on all these choices. The results are shown in Table 26.

Table 26: Responsible for PFAS cleanup

Among registered voters

Who might pay?
	Should pay
Those who used PFAS in their business, leading to contamination	77
The manufacturers of PFAS	75
The state should pay for cleaning up PFAS regardless of the source	23
Those who unknowingly received and discharged PFAS, spreading the chemical	23
Those whose land or water is contaminated even if by someone else	6
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: The legislature is debating who should be responsible for paying to clean up past discharges of the long-lasting chemicals known as PFAS that have contaminated a number of water supplies around the state. Which of the following do you think should pay for cleanup?

Asked if tariffs are helping or hurting Wisconsin farmers, 17% say they are helping, 55% say they are hurting, and 26% believe they aren’t making much difference. Republicans are relatively evenly divided over whether tariffs are helping Wisconsin farmers, with 33%

saying they are helping farmers, 23% saying they are hurting, and 41% saying they have not made much difference. Majorities of independents and Democrats say the tariffs are hurting farmers, as shown in Table 27.

Table 27: 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	17	55	26
Republican	33	23	41
Independent	5	61	34
Democrat	0	95	5
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Do you think tariffs are helping or hurting Wisconsin farmers, or not making much of a difference either way?

Sixty-four percent of voters say they are very or somewhat satisfied with the job public schools in their community are doing, with 36% saying they are either 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 28.

Table 28: Satisfaction with job schools are doing

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Satisfaction
	Very satisfied/satisfied	Very dissatisfied/dissatisfied
2/11-19/26	64	36
10/15-22/25	62	37
6/13-19/25	63	36
2/19-26/25	58	41
10/16-24/24	65	35
9/18-26/24	64	36
6/12-20/24	46	41
10/26-11/2/23	63	35
6/8-13/23	67	31
9/6-11/22	62	31
4/19-24/22	62	32
10/26-31/21	60	30
8/3-8/21	69	22
1/8-12/20	59	33
9/12-16/18	64	25
3/13-16/17	74	19
4/7-10/15	75	21
5/6-9/13	71	25
3/11-13/13	81	14
5/23-26/12	71	24
5/9-12/12	68	25
4/26-29/12	66	27
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: How satisfied are you with the job the public schools are doing in your community?

Voters have grown more concerned with reducing property taxes than with increasing funding for K-12 schools in recent years. In this poll, 60% say property taxes are more important while 40% say funding for K-12 schools is more important. The 60% total for those more concerned with property taxes is the highest in 26 Marquette polls that have asked that question since 2013.

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 holding down property taxes as more important. The full trend is shown in Table 29.

Table 29: More important: property taxes or K-12 funding

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Which more important
	Reducing property taxes	Increasing spending on public schools
2/11-19/26	60	40
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: Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Which is more important to you: reduce property taxes or increase spending on public schools?

In this poll, 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. This is unchanged from October 2025. Opposition to referendums has increased since 2016, as shown in Table 30.

Table 30: Vote for or against school tax referendum

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Referendum vote
	Vote for	Vote against
2/11-19/26	43	57
10/15-22/25	43	57
6/13-19/25	52	46
2/19-23/20	57	34
1/21-24/16	55	35
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Feb. 11-19, 2026
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?

Voters would like a substantial share of the current state budget surplus to be devoted to property tax relief. Sixty-three percent want half or more of the surplus given back to taxpayers for property tax reductions, while 21% say about a quarter of the surplus should go to property tax relief and 16% say none of it should be used this way. The full set of responses is shown in Table 31.

Table 31: How much of surplus for property tax cut

Among registered voters

How much?
	Percent
All of it used for a property tax cut	21
About three-quarters used for a property tax cut	8
About half used for a property tax cut	34
About one-quarter used for a property tax cut	21
None of it used for a property tax cut	16
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Wisconsin currently has about a $2 billion dollar budget surplus. How much of that, if any, would you like to see given back to taxpayers through a property tax cut?

Registered voters are evenly divided over Gov. Tony Evers’ use of his partial veto in 2024 to require increases in school spending limits for the next 400 years. Forty-nine percent say this was necessary to support public schools, while 50% say his veto will require tax increases each year. The parties are sharply different in their views of this, while independents are evenly divided, as shown in Table 32.

Table 32: 400-year veto, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Opinion of veto
	His veto was necessary to support public schools in the long run	His veto will mean tax increases each year for centuries
Among all registered voters	49	50
Republican	15	82
Independent	50	47
Democrat	79	21
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: In 2024, Governor Tony Evers used his partial veto power to change legislation to require increases in school spending limits for the next 400 years. (Supporters say this was necessary to support public schools.) (Opponents say it will require tax increases each year to provide money for spending increases.) What is your opinion of this?

Voters are equally divided on whether the legislature has failed to provide enough funding for public schools, or whether the schools must live within their budget limits. Fifty-one percent say the legislature has not provided needed funding, while 49% say schools must live within their budgets. As with the Evers veto, these opinions follow party lines, though in this case a majority of independents say the legislature has failed to provide adequate funding, as shown in Table 33.

Table 33: Legislative funding of schools, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party ID	Funding
	The legislature has failed to provide enough funding	Schools must live within their budget limits
Among all registered voters	51	49
Republican	18	81
Independent	61	39
Democrat	79	21
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey, Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Some people say (the legislature has failed to provide enough state funding for public schools, and this has required school districts to increase property taxes for the schools.) Others say (public schools must live within their budget limits and school boards should not increase property taxes for the schools.) What is your opinion on this?

Approval of governor, legislature, and Wisconsin Supreme Court

Approval of the job Evers is doing as governor is at 49%, compared to 50% in October. Disapproval remained the same at 45%. The full trend for Evers approval is shown in Table 34.

Table 34: Evers job approval

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Approval
	Net	Approve	Disapprove	Don’t know
2/11-19/26	4	49	45	6
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: Feb. 11-19, 2026
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 ticked up to 41%, from 39% in October, with disapproval falling to 44% from 50%. The full trend for approval of the legislature is in Table 35.

Table 35: Legislature job approval

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Approval
	Net	Approve	Disapprove	Don’t know
2/11-19/26	-3	41	44	15
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: Feb. 11-19, 2026
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. In this survey, approval is at 49% and disapproval at 34%—an improvement from 45% approval and 39% disapproval in October. The full trend is shown in Table 36.

Table 36: Wisconsin Supreme Court job approval

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Approval
	Net	Approve	Disapprove	Don’t know
2/11-19/26	15	49	34	16
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: Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way the Wisconsin state Supreme Court is handling its job?

Donald Trump job approval

Approval of Trump declined in February, to 44% from 46% in October, while disapproval rose one point to 54%, giving him a net approval of -10 points. Trump’s net approval stood at -3 percent a year ago in February 2025. His all-time low net approval in either first or second term is -12 in 2018. He was at -10 three times in his first term. The full trend is shown in Table 37.

Table 37: Donald Trump job approval

Among registered voters

Poll dates	Approval
	Net	Approve	Disapprove	Don’t know
2/11-19/26	-10	44	54	2
10/15-22/25	-7	46	53	1
6/13-19/25	-5	47	52	1
2/19-26/25	-3	48	51	1
10/21-25/20	-5	47	52	1
9/30-10/4/20	-8	44	52	2
8/30-9/3/20	-10	44	54	2
8/4-9/20	-10	44	54	2
6/14-18/20	-6	45	51	3
5/3-7/20	-2	47	49	3
3/24-29/20	-1	48	49	3
2/19-23/20	0	48	48	3
1/8-12/20	-1	48	49	2
12/3-8/19	-3	47	50	2
11/13-17/19	-4	47	51	1
10/13-17/19	-5	46	51	2
8/25-29/19	-8	45	53	1
4/3-7/19	-6	46	52	1
1/16-20/19	-8	44	52	4
10/24-28/18	-3	47	50	2
10/3-7/18	-5	46	51	3
9/12-16/18	-12	42	54	3
8/15-19/18	-6	45	51	3
7/11-15/18	-8	42	50	7
6/13-17/18	-6	44	50	5
2/25-3/1/18	-7	43	50	6
6/22-25/17	-10	41	51	7
3/13-16/17	-6	41	47	11
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin surveys, latest: Feb. 11-19, 2026
Question: Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?

Favorability of political figures

Evers is seen favorably by 46% and unfavorably by 44%, Sen. Tammy Baldwin is close behind with 45% favorable and 45% unfavorable. Sen. Ron Johnson’s is seen favorably by 38% and unfavorably by 44%.

The full set of favorability ratings is shown in Table 38.

Table 38: Favorability to state and national political figures

Among registered voters

Political figure	Favorability
	Net Fav	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough
Tony Evers	2	46	44	9
Tammy Baldwin	0	45	45	11
Ron Johnson	-6	38	44	18
JD Vance	-6	42	48	10
Donald Trump	-11	43	54	2
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Feb. 11-19, 2026
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

Both political parties have negative net-favorability ratings, although the Democratic party is seen more negatively than the Republican party. The Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement’s rating is quite similar to that of the Republican party, as shown in Table 39.

Table 39: Favorability to political organizations

Among registered voters

Political organization	Favorability
	Net Fav	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough
The Republican Party	-12	41	53	5
The MAGA movement	-14	40	54	6
The Democratic Party	-23	35	58	7
Marquette Law School Poll, Wisconsin survey Feb. 11-19, 2026
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 Feb. 11-19, 2026, interviewing 818 Wisconsin registered voters, with a margin of error of +/-4.3 percentage points. To cover more subjects, a number of items were asked of random half-samples of 408 and 410 registered voters with a margin of error of +/-6.1 percentage points. The sample size for Republican primary voters is 371, with a margin of error of 6.4 percentage points. The sample size for Democratic primary voters is 394, with a margin of error of 6.3 percentage points.

Half-sample items:

• Concern about issues (except cost of electricity which is full sample)
• Satisfaction with public schools, reduce property taxes or increase school spending, vote for or against school referendum, budget surplus for tax reduction, 400-year partial veto, legislative funding for schools, deporting immigrants in U.S. illegally, deporting mostly criminals or non-criminals, tariffs helping farmers, Trump policy decreasing inflation, legalize online betting.

The survey was conducted with a hybrid sample of 613 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 737 respondents and 81 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 2025 and 2026, the combined samples were 36% Republican, 32% Democratic, and 32% independent. Counting independents who lean to a party as partisans, there were 46% Republican, 42% Democratic, and 13% independent.

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

Also:

• Public supports independence of Federal Reserve, opposes firing of member of Board of Governors
• 57% say Court is going out of its way to avoid ruling against Trump
• 44% approve of job the Court is doing, 56% disapprove—a decline from early 2025

MILWAUKEE — A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds that 63% of adults think the U.S. Supreme Court should uphold a lower court ruling that limits the president’s authority to impose tariffs, while 36% think the Court should overturn the lower court’s ruling and rule for the president. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case, Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, on Nov. 5 but has not issued a decision as of Feb. 3.

Public views of the case have been consistently in favor of finding limits on the tariff authority since the Marquette poll first asked about this case in September. Table 1 shows opinion over three national surveys. (All results in the tables are stated as percentages.)

Table 1: Limit president’s tariff authority

Among adults

Poll dates	Court should
	Uphold the appeals court ruling that limits the presidents’ authority to impose tariffs	Overturn the appeals court ruling and hold that the President has the authority to set tariffs
1/21-28/26	63	36
11/5-12/25	62	38
9/15-24/25	61	39
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Jan. 21-28, 2026
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?

The survey was conducted Jan. 21-28, 2026, interviewing 1,003 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.4 percentage points.

A majority of the public, 56%, say that tariffs hurt the U.S. economy, while 30% think they help the economy and 14% say tariffs don’t make much difference. Of those who think tariffs help the economy, 77% are in favor of overturning the limits on the president’s authority. But, even among this group, almost one-in-four (23%) think the president’s authority should be limited. Among those who say tariffs harm the economy, 89% think the Court should limit presidential authority. Among those who say tariffs don’t make much difference, opinion as to the president’s authority is evenly divided. Table 2 shows how views of the effect of tariffs are related to opinion of how the Court should rule.

Table 2: Limit president’s tariff authority, by effect of tariffs

Among adults

Effect of tariffs	Court should
	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
Helps U.S. economy	23	77
Hurts U.S. economy	89	11
Doesn’t make much difference	47	52
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey: Jan. 21-28, 2026
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?

Approval of President Donald Trump’s handling of tariffs is similarly related to opinion about how the Court should rule. Thirty-seven percent of adults approve of how Trump is handling tariffs. Among this group, 78% say the Court should sustain the president’s authority over tariffs, while 22% say the Court should limit that authority. Among those who disapprove of Trump’s handling of tariffs, 89% say the Court should limit his authority and 11% say the president should have the power to set tariffs.

Opinion of this case is not purely a partisan divide. While 67% of Republicans think the Court should rule for the president’s authority, 33% think the authority should be limited. Democrats overwhelmingly favor such limits (92%), and 69% of independents also favor limiting the president’s authority.

Federal Reserve

On Jan. 21, the Court heard oral arguments in Trump v. Cook concerning the president’s attempt to fire a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. In the current poll, 35% say the Court should rule that the president can remove Federal Reserve governors, while 64% say the president should not be held to have that power.

In the January survey, 76% say the Federal Reserve should be independent of political control. Among this group, 78% say the president should not be able to remove members of the Board of Governors and 22% say he should have this authority. Among the 24% of adults who say the president should have more influence over the Federal Reserve, 78% say the president should be able to remove members and 22% say he should not be able to do so.

Partisans are divided on how the Court should rule, with 35% of Republicans saying the president should not be able to remove members, while 65% think that he should. Independents largely oppose giving the president authority over membership on the Board of Governors (68%), as do 92% of Democrats.

The Court and the President

More than half, 57%, of those polled say the Court is going out of its way to avoid ruling against Trump, while 43% say the Court is not doing so. Among Republicans, 34% think the Court is avoiding ruling against Trump, as do 59% of independents and 78% of Democrats.

A large majority (82%) of adults believe that the president must obey a Supreme Court decision, with 17% who say the president can ignore a decision with which he disagrees. These views have been quite stable in 10 Marquette polls since 2019, never dipping below 76% saying the president must obey the Court. The percentage saying that has not fallen below 82% since January 2025.

This belief in the authority of the Court is not a partisan matter. Among Republicans, 76% say the president must obey the Court, as do 79% of independents and 90% of Democrats.

Approval of the Supreme Court

Approval of the U.S. Supreme Court’s handling of its job has fallen from 50% in September to 44% in January. Approval had fallen sharply in 2022 following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which overturned abortion rights established in Roe v. Wade. Net approval, the percentage approval minus disapproval, then remained negative throughout the remainder of 2022 and through 2024. In January 2025, net approval moved into positive territory before turning down in July. Table 3 shows approval of the Court since September 2020.

Table 3: United States Supreme Court approval

Among adults

Poll dates	Approval
	Net	Approve	Disapprove
1/21-28/26	-12	44	56
11/5-12/25	-12	44	56
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
11/2-7/23	-18	41	59
9/18-25/23	-14	43	57
7/7-12/23	-10	45	55
5/8-18/23	-18	41	59
3/13-22/23	-12	44	56
1/9-20/23	-6	47	53
11/15-22/22	-12	44	56
9/7-14/22	-20	40	60
7/5-12/22	-23	38	61
5/9-19/22	-11	44	55
3/14-24/22	9	54	45
1/10-21/22	6	52	46
11/1-10/21	8	54	46
9/7-16/21	-1	49	50
7/16-26/21	21	60	39
9/8-15/20	33	66	33
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Jan. 21-28, 2026
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’s handling of its job, with Republicans much more approving (78%) than independents (26%) or Democrats (17%). Republican net approval fell by 14 points from September to November but substantially recovered in January. Net approval among independents declined by 20 points from September to November and fell another 12 points in January. After a 26-point approval drop from May to July, Democrats showed less change from September to November, declining just 4 points. Democrat approval was unchanged in January. The recent trend in approval by party identification is shown in Table 4.

Table 4: United States Supreme Court approval, by party ID

Among adults

Poll dates	Approval
	Net	Approve	Disapprove
Republican
1/21-28/26	56	78	22
11/5-12/25	48	74	26
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
Independent
1/21-28/26	-46	26	72
11/5-12/25	-34	33	67
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

Democrat
1/21-28/26	-66	17	83
11/5-12/25	-66	17	83
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
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Jan. 21-28, 2026
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job?

Attention to the Court

The Supreme Court is not the center of attention for most of the public. In January, 23% said they had read or heard a lot about the Court in the last month, 63% had heard only a little, and 14% had heard nothing at all.

Exposure to news about the Court is linked to general attention to politics. Among the 46% of adults who say they follow what’s going on in politics most of the time, 41% say they have heard a lot about the Court in the past month. That percentage drops to 10% for those who follow politics some of the time and drops below 2% for those who pay only sporadic attention to politics. The full relationship is shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Exposure to news about the Court, by attention to politics

Among adults

Attention to politics	Heard about the Court
	A lot	A little	Nothing at all
Most of the time	41	55	4
Some of the time	10	77	13
Only now and then	1	59	39
Hardly at all	2	43	56
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey: Jan. 21-28, 2026
Question: Thinking about the last month only, how much have you heard or read about the U.S. Supreme Court?
Question: Some people seem to follow what’s going on in politics most of the time, whether there’s an election going on or not. Others aren’t that interested. How often do you follow what’s going on in politics?

Approval of the Court’s work is not related to exposure to news about the Court. Among those hearing a lot about the Court, 42% approve of how the Court is handling its job. Approval among those hearing a little is 45%, and for those hearing nothing at all it is 41%.

Approval of the Court’s handling of its job is also not linked to general attention to politics. Among those who follow politics most of the time, 45% approve. Among those following politics some of the time, 44% approve. Those who follow politics only now and then give the Court a 50% job-approval rating.

On Dec. 4, the Supreme Court allowed Texas to use new congressional district maps in the 2026 elections, staying a lower court order barring the new districts’ use. In the January poll, 29% said they had heard a lot about this decision, 41% said they heard a little, and 31% said they had heard nothing at all.

Among those who follow politics most of the time, 47% heard a lot about this decision and another 40% heard a little. Among those who follow politics only some of the time, just 17% heard a lot and 38% heard nothing at all.

Recent and pending cases

On Dec. 23, the Court let stand a lower court order in Trump v. Illinois preventing the Trump administration from federalizing and deploying National Guard troops within Illinois. Sixty-two percent favor this ruling, with 38% opposed. In November, 57% said the Court should block the deployment of the National Guard and 43% said it should allow the deployment.

On Jan. 13, the Court heard arguments in West Virginia v. B.P.J., which asks whether state laws can prohibit transgender girls and women from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams. Sixty-four percent say the Court should rule those laws are constitutional, while 36% say they should rule the laws unconstitutional. This opinion is barely changed from September, when 62% said the Court should uphold the state laws.

The Court has scheduled oral arguments on March 2 in United States v. Hemani challenging the federal statute that prohibits the possession of firearms by a person who “is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.” This is one of two gun-rights cases the Court is set to hear this term. A majority (61%) say the Court should rule that this law does not violate the Second Amendment, while 39% say it violates the Second Amendment.

Favorability of the justices

The justices are not familiar to most Americans, despite their positions on the high court. Among all adults, Clarence Thomas is the only justice with over 50% name recognition, followed by Brett Kavanaugh and Sonia Sotomayor at just under 50% recognition. The least well-known justice is Elena Kagan, while Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito are only slightly better known. The three justices in the middle are Ketanji Brown Jackson, Amy Coney Barrett, and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Those who are most attentive to politics are considerably more aware of the justices, with more than 50% recognizing each justice and over 70% recognition for the best-known justices. The rank order is virtually identical for the politically attentive group and for all adults. While these levels of name recognition are lower than for most national political figures, the justices are at least somewhat familiar to those who follow politics most of the time.

Table 6 shows the percentage able to recognize and rate each justice among all adults and among those attentive to politics who say they follow politics most of the time.

Table 6: Recognition of justices

Among adults and those attentive to politics

Justice	Able to rate, among adults	Able to rate, among attentive to politics
Clarence Thomas	56	77
Brett Kavanaugh	49	72
Sonia Sotomayor	47	68
Ketanji Brown Jackson	43	65
Amy Coney Barrett	42	65
John Roberts	41	63
Samuel Alito	37	56
Neil Gorsuch	32	51
Elena Kagan	31	51
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Jan. 21-28, 2026
Question: Some justices of the Supreme Court are better known than others. For each of these names, have you never heard of them, heard of them but don’t know enough to have an opinion of them, have a favorable opinion or have an unfavorable opinion?

Sotomayor has the highest net favorability of the justices, followed by Kagan and Jackson—a cluster of the three liberal justices. Roberts is barely net positive, Gorsuch a net of zero, and Barrett and Alito are slightly net negative. Thomas and Kavanaugh are the most net negative in terms of favorability of the justices. Table 7 shows the net favorable-minus-unfavorable opinion of the justices for all adults and for each partisan group.

Table 7: Net favorability of justices, by party identification

Among adults

Justice	All adults	Republican	Independent	Democrat
Sonia Sotomayor	13	-21	4	52
Elena Kagan	9	-7	-3	30
Ketanji Brown Jackson	7	-28	1	44
John Roberts	1	22	-1	-19
Neil Gorsuch	0	25	-6	-23
Amy Coney Barrett	-2	27	-7	-28
Samuel Alito	-3	24	3	-31
Clarence Thomas	-6	38	-8	-51
Brett Kavanaugh	-7	34	-7	-50
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Jan. 21-28, 2026
Question: Some justices of the Supreme Court are better known than others. For each of these names, have you never heard of them, heard of them but don’t know enough to have an opinion of them, have a favorable opinion or have an unfavorable opinion?

There is strong party polarization in views of the justices. Republicans rate the three liberals negatively and the six conservative justices positively. Democrats reverse this, with positive feelings for the liberals and negative feelings for the conservatives. Independents give ratings that are more evenly divided than those of partisans and don’t follow the clear liberal-conservative patterns of partisans.

An important difference between Democrats and Republicans is that Democrats feel much more strongly about the justices than do Republicans. For example, Republicans rate Sotomayor at -21 and Democrats rate her at +52, a much more intense balance of feelings. The same holds for Kavanaugh, whom Republicans rate at +34, but the Democrats rate him a more intense -50. This difference in intensity holds for each justice except for Roberts, Gorsuch, and Barrett, for whom intensity differences are modest. This difference in intensity helps explain why most of the conservative justices are rated negatively, even though Republicans and Democrats have almost equal shares of the population. The greater Democratic intensity, both positive and negative, helps tip overall favorability up for liberal justices and down for conservative ones.

About the Marquette Law School Poll

The survey was conducted Jan. 21-28, 2026, interviewing 1,003 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.4 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 national political topics) were previously released on Feb. 4. The detailed methodology statement, survey instrument, topline results, and crosstabs for this release are available on the Marquette Law School Poll website.

Wording of questions about recent and pending Supreme Court decisions: 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 recent cases include:

Learning Resources, Inc. 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. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule?

Trump v. Cook

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a case asking whether President Trump can remove a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. A lower court ruling prevented the removal, which the Supreme Court is now considering. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule?

Trump v. Illinois

In December the U.S. Supreme Court blocked President Trump’s deployment in Chicago of National Guard troops. Do you favor or oppose the Supreme Court’s decision?

West Virginia v. B.P.J.

The Supreme Court heard 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. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule?

United States v. Hemani

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in February on a challenge to the constitutionality of a federal law that makes it a felony for any “unlawful user” of illegal drugs to have a gun. How do you think the Court should rule? [Note: argument is scheduled for March 2]