In a development that could draw new interest and outside money into the race for governor, Democrat Mary Burke has drawn closer to Republican incumbent Scott Walker in the latest Marquette University Law School Poll.
Among likely voters — an important measure in a lower-turnout midterm election — Walker leads 48-45, which is considered a statistical toss up for the poll released on Wednesday. Among all registered voters, including those currently seen as less likely to vote in November, the two candidates were tied at 46%.
In the last poll, on March 26, Walker held a 48% to 41% lead over Burke among registered voters and in January he led 47% to 41%. The numbers on likely voters are the first this year from Marquette, so for now no comparison is possible with past polls.
While I appreciate that many on the left aren’t completely sold on the merits of Mary Burke as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee this year, I truly believe that she’d be better for Wisconsin than Scott Walker, so it’s encouraging to see that she’s narrowing the gap with Walker.
The poll is truly encouraging but not predictive. Democrats must get out the vote in 2014.
Already there is push back from the media blaming the Move To Amend initiatives as a “frightening Democratic Plot” to “silence” the Koch brothers.
While Move To Amend ( http://www.movetoamend.org ) began as a non partisan effort to limit the influence of undisclosed corporate funding to politicians, it has been taken up by Progressives–now primarily voting Democratic because of corporate takeover of U.S. elections and legislation due to the Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United and McCutcheon decisions.
Obviously GOTV efforts are going to be critical for Democrats, especially if they have any chance of overcoming the disadvantages they face as a result of how our state was redistricted in 2010.