Democrats have gained an enthusiasm advantage over Republicans; Baldwin continues to hold lead over Hovde in U.S. Senate race MILWAUKEE – A new Marquette Law School Poll survey of Wisconsin finds Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris supported by 52% of registered voters and Republican former President Donald Trump supported by 48% in a head-to-head matchup in the race for president. Among likely voters, it is also Harris as the choice of 52% and Trump of 48%. These results include initially undecided voters who were then asked whom they would vote for if they had to choose. In the Marquette Law School Poll’s July survey of Wisconsin, Harris received 49% and Trump 50% among registered voters, with the numbers reversing to Harris at 50% and Trump’s 49% among likely voters. In a multicandidate race, Harris is the choice of 47% and Trump 43%, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receives 6%, Libertarian Chase Oliver 1%, Green Party candidate Jill Stein 1%, independent Cornel West 1%, and Constitution Party candidate Randall Terry 0% among registered voters. Among likely voters, it is Harris 48%, Trump 43%, Kennedy 6%, Oliver 1%, Stein 1%, Terry 1%, and West 1%. Kennedy suspended his campaign on Aug. 23, prior to the poll’s survey entering the field, but remains on the Wisconsin ballot. A large majority, 86%, said they had heard he had ended his campaign, while 14% had not heard. In the U.S. Senate race, Sen. Tammy Baldwin is supported by 52% to Eric Hovde’s 48% among registered voters. Among likely voters, Baldwin receives 52% and Hovde receives 47%. These results include initially undecided voters who were then asked whom they would vote for if they had to choose. When initially asked, Baldwin receives 48% and Hovde 44%, while 8% say they are undecided, among registered voters. When the Senate ballot includes independent candidates, Baldwin receives 51%, Hovde 45%, Phil Anderson (the “Disrupt the Corruption” party candidate) receives 2%, and Thomas Leager (of the “America First” party) receives 2% among registered voters. Among likely voters, Baldwin receives 51% and Hovde 45%, with 2% for Anderson and 2% for Leager. The survey was conducted Aug. 28-Sept. 5, 2024, interviewing 822 Wisconsin registered voters, with a margin of error of +/-4.6 percentage points, The survey included 738 likely voters, with a margin of error of +/-4.7 percentage points. (All results are stated as percentages.) While the race for president remains very close in Wisconsin, when asked who they think is likely to win in November, 48% say Harris will definitely or probably win, while 41% say Trump will definitely or probably win and 11% say they don’t know. In July, by contrast, 39% said Harris would win, 51% said Trump would win, and 11% didn’t know. Source of political division In October 2013 we asked voters: Which comes closer to your view about political divisions in Washington these days? Growing political divisions among elected officials reflect a more divided American society OR growing political divisions are mostly among elected officials and not American…

MILWAUKEE – As a new school year begins across the country, a Marquette University Law School Poll national survey found that Americans are inclined overall to be at least somewhat satisfied with the public schools in their communities, but almost half of Americans are somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with these public schools. The nationwide poll this summer found that 12% of those surveyed were very satisfied with their community’s public schools, while 37% were somewhat satisfied, totaling 49% on the satisfied side. But 24% were somewhat dissatisfied, and 20% were very dissatisfied, totaling 44% on the dissatisfied side. Seven percent said they didn’t know. The close-to-evenly-divided results indicate that public schools face challenges, something that can also be seen in local education controversies across the United States. The Marquette Law School Poll was conducted June 21-24, 2024, interviewing 1,005 adults, with participants selected randomly nationwide and interviewed online. This is the first time the Marquette Law School Poll has asked about school satisfaction in a national poll. However, it has asked such questions 16 times over 12 years in Wisconsin polling, where dissatisfaction with public schools has increased significantly in recent years, as shown in a separate, Wisconsin-specific June 2024 survey, which was the subject of a Marquette Law School Poll release yesterday. The national poll also asked about respondents’ satisfaction with other schools in their communities. Ten percent of respondents said they were very satisfied with public charter schools, 31% said they were somewhat satisfied, 16% were somewhat dissatisfied, and 10% were very dissatisfied, with 32% saying they didn’t know. For Catholic schools, 9% were very satisfied, 28% were somewhat satisfied, 12% somewhat dissatisfied, and 11% very dissatisfied, with 39% saying they didn’t know. And for non-religious private schools, 8% were very satisfied, 35% somewhat satisfied, 13% somewhat dissatisfied, and 7% very dissatisfied, with 37% saying they didn’t know. The responses pointed to much more familiarity with public schools than with other school sectors. Table 1 shows satisfaction with the types of schools. Satisfaction with public schools was higher among those who identified themselves as Democrats than among those who identified themselves as Republicans. Among Democrats, 63% were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their community’s public schools, while 10% were very dissatisfied. Among Republicans, 42% were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied, while 25% were very dissatisfied. Table 2 shows satisfaction with public schools by party identification. Asked who could help improve education, the nationwide results pointed to parents as the prime choice, with 57% saying parents could do a lot to improve education and 26% saying they could do some. Local school boards and state governments also could do a lot to improve education, those surveyed said. For school boards, 47% of respondents said that these local government entities could do a lot and 31% said they could do some. For state governments, 48% said they could do a lot and 29% said they could do some to improve education. But expectations for the federal government were…