<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/antrover/6970868797/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Dave Hoefler</a>/Flickr
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has stretched his recall election lead over Democrat Tom Barrett to six percentage points, according to a new poll by Marquette University’s Law School. Walker leads 50 percent to 44 percent among likely voters, an increase of five points from Marquette’s last poll nearly a month ago.
The poll, Marquette’s first since the May 8 Democratic primary, finds voter enthusiasm for the recall highest among Republicans, even though it was progressives and Democrats who triggered the recall election. An overwhelming majority—91 percent—of GOPers surveyed said they’re “absolutely certain” to vote in the June 5 election; 8 in 10 Democrats and independents said the same. In addition, 6 in 10 GOP respondents said they’d tried to convince another person to vote in the recall, while just over 5 in 10 Democrats said the same. Democrats, however, are more likely to have been contacted by a campaign than Republicans.
Charles Franklin, Marquette Law School’s poll director, said in a statement that a key takeaway is that Republicans hold the crucial edge in voter enthusiasm with the June 5 election weeks away. “In a close election with so few undecided voters,” he said, “enthusiasm, turnout, and campaign contact with voters may make the difference.”
The poll also found that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were deadlocked in Wisconsin, 46-46. Last month, Obama held a four point lead over Romney, 49-45.
The Marquette poll surveyed 704 registered voters in Wisconsin. The margin of error for the survey was about 4 percent.
