Obama ahead of Romney in latest poll Milwaukee, Wis. – A new Marquette Law School poll finds former Governor Tommy Thompson holding an eight-point lead over Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, 49 percent to 41 percent among likely voters, in Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race. Thompson also holds the advantage among those planning to vote in the August 14 Republican primary; 34 percent of likely primary voters said they would support him. Former Congressman Mark Neumann has 16 percent, businessman Eric Hovde has 14 percent and Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald is at 10 percent. A substantial 25 percent said that they were undecided or didn’t know whom they would support in the Republican primary. In other matchups for the November U.S. Senate race, Baldwin and Neumann are tied at 44 percent each; Baldwin receives 45 percent support to Fitzgerald’s 39 percent; and Baldwin has a nine-point edge, 45 percent to 36 percent, over Hovde. In the presidential race, 49 percent said they would vote for President Barack Obama, to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s 43 percent. In the previous Marquette Law School Poll, conducted May 23-26, Obama led 51-43. The poll was conducted June 13-16 by both landline and cell phone. The November matchups for likely voters have a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points while the result for Republican primary voters has a margin of error of +/- 5.4 percentage points. Candidate images Among the entire sample of registered voters, Thompson is best known, with 84 percent name recognition. He is viewed favorably by 48 percent and unfavorably by 36 percent. Baldwin is less well known, with 57 percent name recognition, which splits 27 percent favorable to 30 percent unfavorable. Slightly less well known is Neumann, with 48 percent recognition and an evaluation of 24 percent favorable to 24 percent unfavorable. Fitzgerald is recognized by 39 percent, with 17 percent favorable to 22 percent unfavorable. Hovde remains the least recognized, with 27 percent able to give an opinion about him, dividing 14 percent favorable to 13 percent unfavorable. Marquette Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin noted, “The gubernatorial recall election dominated the attention of Wisconsin voters, resulting in less awareness of and knowledge about most of the U.S. Senate candidates at this point. As the campaign approaches the August 14 primary, we would expect to see substantial gains in voters’ knowledge of all the candidates.” The images of the Republican candidates are somewhat different among likely GOP primary voters. Thompson has 60 percent favorable to 27 percent unfavorable ratings among these voters, with just 13 percent unable to give a rating. Neumann is rated favorably by 38 percent and unfavorably by 18 percent, with 44 percent unable to rate him. Fitzgerald has a 30 percent favorable rating to 16 percent unfavorable, with 53 percent unable to rate him. Hovde is viewed favorably by 22 percent of GOP primary voters, with 11 percent unfavorable and 67 percent unable to rate him. There is no contested Democratic primary for comparison, but among…

Obama leads Romney in latest poll Milwaukee, Wis. – A new Marquette Law School poll finds Governor Scott Walker with 52 percent to Mayor Tom Barrett with 45 percent among 600 likely voters in next week’s recall election. That lead falls slightly short of statistical significance. The poll was taken May 23-26, with most interviews completed before last Friday’s first gubernatorial debate, and has a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points. Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch had 46 percent and Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin president Mahlon Mitchell had 41 percent, with 11 percent not expressing a preference. The margin in the Lt. Governor’s race is not statistically significant. The seven-point advantage for Walker was statistically unchanged from the six-point margin two weeks ago in the Marquette Law School poll taken May 9-12, when Walker had 50 percent to Barrett’s 44 percent. Among all registered voters the margin is six points, with Walker at 50 percent and Barrett at 44 percent. The registered voter sample has a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percentage points. In the presidential race President Barack Obama received 51 percent to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s 43 percent among likely voters. Jobs Perceptions of the jobs situation in the state have shifted over the past two weeks. In the latest survey, 38 percent think the state has gained jobs in the last year, while 30 percent say the state has lost jobs, with 29 percent saying jobs are about the same. In the survey two weeks ago, only 20 percent thought the state had gained jobs, while 37 percent said it had lost jobs. Voters also said Walker would be better at creating jobs than Barrett by a 50 percent to 43 percent margin. Asked about the impact of limiting collective bargaining for public employees, 39 percent thought it had decreased jobs in the state while 28 percent thought it had increased jobs, with 26 percent seeing no effect. Asked about the impact of legislation “reducing regulation and offering incentives to business” to stay or move to the state, 43 percent thought this had increased jobs while 14 percent thought it had decreased jobs and 35 percent saw no effect. Candidate images Walker holds a 51 percent favorable to 46 percent unfavorable image among voters, with just 3 percent unable to give an opinion. Walker’s job approval rating is similar, with 51 percent approval and 45 percent disapproval. For Barrett, 41 percent have a favorable opinion to 46 percent unfavorable, while a larger 11 percent are unable to give an opinion. In the Lt. Governor’s race, Kleefisch receives a 30 percent favorable to 33 percent unfavorable rating, with 36 percent unable to rate her. Opinions of Mitchell were 17 percent favorable, 12 percent unfavorable and 71 percent unable to express an opinion. There are some ambivalent feelings about how Walker has done his job as governor. Asked which statement comes closest to their view of how Scott Walker has done as Governor, 39 percent…