Wisconsin voters stubbornly undecided: 5 takeaways from Marquette Law School poll
Molly BeckMADISON - Less than a month before an election to decide which candidates will take on incumbents Gov. Scott Walker and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin in November, Wisconsin voters still haven't tuned in.
The most recent Marquette University Law School poll revealed voters either aren't paying attention or don't know who they'll support in the U.S. Senate and Democratic gubernatorial primary elections.
The indecision comes for Democrats at a time when none of the Democratic candidates for governor have ads running on television. But it also affects Republican voters mulling whether to choose state Sen. Leah Vukmir or businessman Kevin Nicholson despite millions being spent on behalf of both.
Here are five takeaways from Wednesday's poll results:
1. Tony Evers has more support than all challengers combined
State Superintendent Tony Evers received 31% support among voters polled — which is more than his seven challengers received combined, none of whom earned more than 6% support.
But that doesn't mean the race is wrapped up just yet — 38% of voters polled said they hadn't made up their minds. And Evers' support was registered before any candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for governor showed up in ads on television.
Related: Marquette poll: Leah Vukmir and Kevin Nicholson in a dead heat in GOP U.S. Senate primary
In fact, former Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairman Matt Flynn released news of his first television ad buy just minutes after the poll results were released. Flynn registered just 5% support. The ad will start airing statewide on Friday.
2. Leah Vukmir closes gap with Kevin Nicholson for the first time
Since Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield) began her campaign for U.S. Senate, she has trailed businessman Kevin Nicholson in Marquette Law School polling.
But Vukmir is now statistically tied with Nicholson, according to Wednesday's poll results. In June, she was trailing by 5 percentage points and by 9 in March.
3. Views on Trump differ according to gender
Men and women view Donald Trump's handling of his position as president very differently, according to the poll results.
More than half of men polled — 54% — approve of the job Trump is doing, while 31% of women hold the same view.
Overall, 42% said they approved of the way Trump was handling his job and 50% said they didn't.
4. Most don't blame tariffs for Harley-Davidson's decision to ship production overseas
Following a spat between Trump and Harley-Davidson, during which Trump threatened to tax the Milwaukee icon "like never before" should they move some production overseas, more voters polled aren't blaming tariffs for the move.
Related: Trump threatens Harley with higher taxes after bike maker unveils move overseas
Forty-seven percent of voters polled said Harley's decision to move some production to Europe would have likely happened regardless of Europe raising tariffs in response to U.S. tariff increases.
Meanwhile, 37% of those polled blamed the tariffs.
5. Opinions on road conditions vary by region
Nearly 60% of voters polled rated the roads and highways in their areas has being in poor or fair condition, while 40% rated the roadways in good or excellent condition.
But voters living in the north and western parts of Wisconsin see their roads as being in worse condition than those living in the south and southeast part of the state.
Sixty-six percent of voters in northern and western Wisconsin said their roads were in fair or poor shape, and 34% said their roads were in good or excellent condition.
In the southern part of the state, where Milwaukee and Madison are located, 52% of residents said their roads were in bad shape and 48% said their roads were in good shape.