Scott Walker's Approval Drops In Wisconsin

Scott Walker's Approval Drops In Wisconsin

Wisconsin voters' opinions of Gov. Scott Walker (R) have slipped since last fall, a new Marquette University Law School survey finds.

Forty-one percent now approve of Walker's performance, while 56 percent disapprove. In October, 49 percent approved and 47 percent disapproved.

Marquette is the only non-partisan pollster to survey Wisconsin since the 2014 midterms. The results, coming after years of relatively steady ratings for the governor, could represent either a significant outlier from earlier polling or a marked drop in Walker's standing.

The survey finds an especially sharp drop among political independents, who approved of Walker by a roughly 3-point margin last year but now disapprove by a 24-point margin. While Republicans still support him by an overwhelming 73-point margin, that's down from nearly 90 points in October.

As the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel notes, Walker, a likely GOP 2016 contender, has spent increasing amounts of his time traveling, both to other states and abroad. Two-thirds of Wisconsin voters, including 69 percent of independents, say it's not possible for a governor to run for president and still handle the duties of their office. Walker also faced controversy from both the left and the right over his proposal for a new basketball arena, which voters overwhelmingly oppose.

Marquette surveyed 803 registered Wisconsin voters between April 7-10, using live interviewers to reach both landlines and cell phones. The partisan composition of the poll matched closely with that of the 2014 survey.

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