Walker’s Approval Rating Drops 8 Points In Latest Marquette Poll

Pollster Charles Franklin Says Dip May Reflect Negative Public Reaction To Budget

By
Gage Skidmore (CC-BY-NC-SA)

Gov. Scott Walker’s job approval has taken a dive in Wisconsin since he introduced his budget and started spending more time out of state running for president.

The latest Marquette University poll, released on Thursday, shows Walker’s job approval rating has fallen to 41 percent. It was at 49 percent in October.

Pollster Charles Franklin said the drop likely reflects the public’s negative views of Walker’s budget, Wisconsin’s economy and the direction of the state.

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“All of those together conspire to create a more negative view of the state right now, coupled with his presidential travels and the fact that he’s not here campaigning for his budget and campaigning for his role as governor,” said Franklin.

In a conference call with reporters from his European trade mission, Walker said his budget was likely responsible for his dropping approval rating, but he said that would change once people learn more about it.

“This final budget, people are going to be overwhelmingly pleased,” said Walker.

Walker’s approval rating in this survey was the lowest since Marquette began polling in January of 2012.

About 800 registered voters were interviewed last week over telephone for the survey. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.