A new poll finds a majority of voters are ready for Gov. Tony Evers to hit the road, with 60 percent of those surveyed saying Wisconsin is on the wrong track.
The statewide survey from pollster Cygnal, conducted July 6-8, finds voters have a net-unfavorable view of the Democrat’s performance. Cygnal surveyed 640 general election voters in the Badger State, and found 52 percent oppose a second term for Evers. The governor last month announced that he is running for re-election.
Evers runs just behind a generic GOP challenger (the poll didn’t pit Evers against possible Republican candidates) — with 47.5 percent supporting a Republican contestant, and 46.9 percent saying they would vote for Evers.
The poll finds Evers is vulnerable on some key issues — problems that he has made worse. Seventy-six percent of respondents have heard about or have experienced trouble filling jobs. Evers recently vetoed a Republican bill that would end the federal unemployment bonus payment. At $300 weekly, businesses and economic experts say the subsidy is keeping jobless Wisconsinites from looking for work during a worker shortage crisis.
More than half of voters are less likely to support Evers because of his lack of action on unemployment benefits. The Evers administration’s slow response to last year’s flood of unemployment claims has been roundly criticized.
Voters are split on whether they’d vote for him or “a Republican candidate” if the gubernatorial election was held today, according to the poll.
President Joe Biden is under water in Wisconsin, too. The poll finds the Democrat has a -6 net favorable rating and 50 percent don’t approve of the job he’s doing. Inflation is a key concern. Eighty percent of respondents say they are worried about rapidly rising prices.
Evers has been bragging about how much money he’s raised. Maybe he should be more concerned with, you know, votes. One poll does not a trend make, but maybe the Democratic Party should think about whether Evers is the candidate they want as their puppet next year.
The 2022 election won’t merely be interesting for the governor’s race. Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is widely rumored to be running for U.S. Senate (a race with seven Democrats so far), meaning there could be a new lieutenant governor candidate. If I were one of those seven Democrats, I’d be very concerned with Biden’s negative approval rating.
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 