Up for Grabs: Wisconsin Voters Show Limited Familiarity with Spring Election Candidates, Marquette Poll Finds
Less than a month before the April 1 election, most Wisconsin voters don’t know enough about the candidates for state Supreme Court or state superintendent to rate them, according to a Marquette Law School Poll released Wednesday.
The poll interviewed 864 registered voters Feb. 19-26. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.6 percentage points. The release did not include a head-to-head matchup in either race.
Supreme Court
Former Attorney General Brad Schimel is the best-known candidate. Among registered voters, 29% view him favorably, 32% unfavorably and 38% have no opinion.
Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford is viewed favorably by 19% and unfavorably by 23%. Another 58% have no opinion of her.
Voters see the stakes. Liberals hold a 4-3 majority on the court, and 83% of those polled said the election could tip the balance. Another 57% said the outcome is very important to them.
“It’s a long time away, and I think trying to handicap the race this far out with this much awareness isn’t a great idea,” poll director Charles Franklin told WPR. “At this point, many voters simply don’t know enough to choose.”
The Schimel campaign answered the poll with a statement from communications director Jacob Fischer.
“Learning nothing from November, the Democrats’ handpicked a deeply flawed candidate, Susan Crawford, who spent her legal career fighting against Voter ID and Act 10, and her judicial career letting sexual predators and violent criminals back on our streets,” Fischer said. “On April 1, Wisconsin has a clear choice between continuing an extreme ideologically driven agenda or taking back the Court to restore fairness to our justice system. The stakes couldn’t be higher, if Susan Crawford wins, Wisconsin will become unrecognizable.”
State superintendent
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The superintendent race is even less known. Incumbent Jill Underly is viewed favorably by 16% and unfavorably by 20%. Sixty-four percent have no opinion of her.
Challenger Brittany Kinser is viewed favorably by 16% and unfavorably by 13%, with 71% offering no opinion. She is the least-known of the four candidates but has the best net rating.
Only 18% said they had heard or read a lot about the superintendent race. For the Supreme Court race, it was 39%.
Schools and taxes
Fifty-eight percent said holding down property taxes is more important than increasing spending on public schools. Forty-one percent said the opposite.
That’s a reversal from 2015 through 2018, when a majority put school funding first. Concern about property taxes has climbed since 2019 and passed school funding in 2023.
Sixty percent said Wisconsin’s school standards are lower than they should be. Thirty-four percent said they are about right.
Voter ID
Voters back a photo ID requirement 77% to 22%. In a dozen Marquette polls since 2012, the lowest support was 58%, in October 2014.
A constitutional amendment on the April ballot would put the photo ID requirement in the state constitution. It is favored 73% to 27%. Republicans back it 97%, and independents 77%. Democrats oppose it 55%.
The sample
The poll used 641 respondents from the state voter registration list and 223 from the SSRS Opinion Panel. Of those, 740 answered online and 124 by phone with a live interviewer.
The sample was 36% Republican, 32% Democratic and 32% independent. Counting independents who lean to a party, it was 46% Republican, 42% Democratic and 13% independent.
The spring election is April 1.
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