Latest MU Poll Finds Changes in Voter Opinion on Impeachment, Wisconsin Gov. and Legislature

After a newsworthy month in both the state and federal government, the latest Marquette University (MU) Law School poll asked 801 Wisconsin voters their opinions on state and national politicians. The November poll covers approval of President Donald Trump amid impeachment proceedings, approval of Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and the state legislature after several contentious floor sessions, and voters’ top choices in the 2020 Democratic primary for president.

 

President Donald Trump

Voter opinions on President Donald Trump remained about the same as in the previous poll, with 47 percent approving and 51 percent disapproving (compared to 46 percent approving, 51 percent disapproving in October). 47 percent is the highest approval rating of Trump in the MU poll this year. The only other times Trump’s approval has reached 47 percent were August and October of 2018. Voters still have strong opinions – whether approving or disapproving – of Trump’s job as president.

Trump’s favorable/unfavorable numbers were also his best of any MU poll this year. 46 percent view the president favorably, and 50 percent view him unfavorably. The poll also noted increases in support for Trump’s work on foreign policy and the economy.

In the midst of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment hearings this month, Wisconsin voters’ support for the impeachment of President decreased slightly. 40 percent say Trump should be impeached and removed from office, down from 44 percent in the October poll. 53 percent do not think Trump should be impeached and removed from office, up from 51 percent in October.

 

Gov. Tony Evers

Gov. Tony Evers’s approval ratings fell in the November poll. 47 percent say they approve of his job as governor, down from 52 percent in October. 42 percent say they disapprove of the governor, his highest disapproval rating since taking office in January. Evers’s favorable/unfavorable numbers also fell in the latest poll. 43 percent view the governor favorably, down from 47 percent in October. At a record high since taking office, 41 percent view the governor unfavorably.

 

Wisconsin Legislature

Approval of the Wisconsin Legislature dropped just slightly between April (when the question was last asked) and November. 48 percent of voters approve of how the legislature is handling its job, down from 50 percent in April. 39 percent disapprove, up just 1 percentage point from April.

The November poll asked voters their thoughts on the Wisconsin Senate’s rejection of Gov. Evers’s appointee to the Department of Trade, Agriculture & Consumer Protection. 47 percent said they hadn’t heard anything about the issue. Of those who had heard, voters were about evenly split on whether the Senate did the right thing or wrong thing by rejecting the governor’s nominee.

 

2020 Democratic Primary

In the 2020 Democratic primary for president, Wisconsin Democratic voters’ top choice continues to be former Vice President Joe Biden at 31 percent.

Voters selecting U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) as their top choice dropped from 24 percent in October to 15 percent in November. Warren’s favorability also dropped from 32 percent to 29 percent, and the number of voters viewing her unfavorably increased from 40 percent to 46 percent. Since the previous poll, Warren announced an ambitious and expensive Medicare-for-All plan that has received significant media attention.

As a result of Warren’s falling numbers, U.S. Sen. Bernier Sanders (D-Vermont) jumped to second behind Biden as Wisconsin voters’ top choice for the nominee. Though his favorability numbers dropped slightly, the number of voters selecting Sanders as their top choice remained the same as in October at 17 percent.

A significant change from Democrats’ leads the October poll, Biden, Sanders and Warren no longer beat Trump in the head-to-head questions. In the November poll, Trump beat Biden and Sanders by 3 points and Warren by 5 points.

Although only 3 percent of voters selected U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) as their top choice for the nominee, Booker was the only candidate to beat incumbent President Trump in a head-to-head question at 45 to 44 percent. Note that the Booker and Klobuchar questions were each asked to only half the sample.

 

 

Candidate Voters’ Top Choice Trump Head-to-Head Favorable Unfavorable Haven’t Heard Enough
Biden 30% 44-47 39 48 8
Sanders 17% 45-48 36 54 6
Warren 15% 43-48 29 46 19
Buttigieg 13% 39-47 23 25 40
Klobuchar
(*half sample)
3% 36-50 16 21 49
Booker
(*half sample)
3% 45-44 (not polled) (not polled) (not polled)