Gov. Scott Walker opens 7-point lead over Mary Burke in last MU poll before election

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Gov. Scott Walker now has a 7-percentage-point lead over Democrat Mary Burke, according to a new Marquette Law School poll.

Rich Kirchen

Senior Reporter- Milwaukee Business Journal

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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker apparently regained his stride with likely voters, opening a 7-percentage-point lead over Democratic challenger Mary Burke, according to a new Marquette Law School poll.

The Marquette poll, which has an excellent track record for predicting Wisconsin election results, found that 50 percent of likely voters support Walker compared with 43 percent for Burke. Those figures represent a major shift from previous polls that showed the race neck-and-neck including an Oct. 15 poll where Walker and Burke were tied at 47 percent among likely voters.

The reason for the changing tide in the Wisconsin governor's race is the shifting turnout intentions of voters, poll director Charles Franklin said. More Walker supporters say they will vote than do Burke supporters, Franklin said.

The Walker advantage exceeds the poll's margin of error, which is plus or minus 3 percentage points for likely voters. This is the last MU Law School poll before the election.

The poll was conducted Oct. 23 through Oct. 26. It included 1,409 registered voters with 1,164 of them saying they are likely to vote.

Among registered voters, the race remained close with Walker garnering support from 46 percent of those polled and Burke, 45 percent.

In the previous poll released Oct. 15, Burke bounced back from a short-lived deficit to a tie with Walker among likely voters at 47 percent each.

Four percent of likely voters remained undecided as of the Oct. 15 poll, according to the MU poll released Wednesday afternoon. Burke had added support from voters who are independents in the previous poll.

In the state attorney general's race, the Marquette poll found that Republican Brad Schimel has the support of 43 of likely voters to Democrat Susan Happ's 39 percent. Fourteen percent of likely voters remain undecided in the attorney general's race.

Senior Reporter Rich Kirchen covers health care, sports business, politics and media/advertising for the Milwaukee Business Journal.