Poll: Independents give Michels, Johnson edge in Wisconsin races

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A new poll shows independent voters breaking toward the Republican candidates in Wisconsin’s top two races this fall and giving them the edge with just over a month to go until Election Day.

Both GOP nominees, gubernatorial challenger Tim Michels and incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson, broke the 50% threshold among all likely voters in the survey and led their respective races.

Michels holds a seven-point lead among independent voters in Wisconsin, the poll found. With each candidate claiming nearly complete support within their respective party, the Republican challenger leads incumbent Gov. Tony Evers by three points. Meanwhile, Johnson maintains an even wider 10-point gap over Democratic challenger Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes among independents, leaving him up five points in a head-to-head showdown.

A Marquette Law poll released just over two weeks ago also indicates Wisconsin will see tight races this fall. It flipped the results found in Thursday’s AARP poll in the gubernatorial race, putting Evers up by three points. As far as the Senate battle, MU pollsters had Johnson up, but by a narrower margin.

Some voters may be holding their noses when they cast their ballots this November with all four candidates receiving favorability ratings lower than their overall support in the election. Additionally, favorability numbers for each of them were underwater.

Johnson, for example, held the highest approval mark at 48% but half of likely voters told pollsters they did not approve of him.

Regardless of party, likely voters told pollsters they were extremely likely to participate in this year’s elections. For Democrats and Republicans, at least nine in 10 respondents said they were extremely motivated this fall. Among independents that number retreats to 83 percent.

When voters were asked how they felt about the direction of the country and the state, only about a quarter of them said they felt either was on the right track.

The poll was commissioned by AARP and conducted by Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research.

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