WISCONSIN — The newest Marquette University Law School Poll was released Wednesday, showing a shift in the race for Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate seat. It was the biggest change in the updated polling numbers.
The October poll showed Republican incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson leading the race, with 52% of likely voters polled saying they favored him. Johnson led Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes by six points — 46% of likely voters polled said they favored him. The margin of error among likely voters is +/-4.8%.
In the previous MU Law Poll, released in September, 49% of poll participants said they favored Johnson and 48% said they favored Barnes.
In contrast, the race for Wisconsin governor has tightened. Among likely voters polled, 47% said they supported Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers, while 46% said they supported Republican challenger Tim Michels. The margin of error among likely voters is +/-4.8%.
In the September poll, 47% of likely voters polled said they supported Evers, while 44% said they supported Michels.
Charles Franklin, director of the MU Law Poll, said the shifts in results are coming from independents.
“The independents are the interesting parts. If you look, in August, Evers had an 11 point advantage with independents and then in September that came down to a 6% advantage,” Franklin said. “This month is Michels with a one point advantage. So, clearly there has been a shift with independents.”
Read the entire poll results, here.