Friday, May 25, 2012

New poll: Walker recall a dead heat



New polls show Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is in a virtual tie with Job-killer Frequent liar Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. The race is tightening as voters learn about the criminal investigation tied to Walker.

According to The Huffington Post,
The Wisconsin gubernatorial recall race is now a dead heat as voters have learned more about the corruption probe surrounding Gov. Scott Walker (R), according to a new internal poll for the campaign of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D). 
In a survey of 935 likely recall voters, conducted by the Garin Hart Yang Research Group from May 22 to 24, Walker led Barrett by 49.89 to 48.62 percent. With the poll's margin of error at plus or minus 3.3 percent, that means the race is essentially tied. 
Wisconsin Democrats have been hammering Walker in recent days over the "John Doe" investigation of his time as Milwaukee county executive, which has already ensnared several former staffers. The probe by the Milwaukee County district attorney's office is reportedly focusing on whether staffers who worked for Walker did political work on the taxpayers' dime. In March, Walker set up a legal defense fund... 
Voters who had heard about the John Doe probe preferred Barrett by 52 to 46 percent. Public awareness of the criminal investigation is also increasing: 25 percent of respondents on Wednesday night said they had heard "a lot" about it, while 37 percent said the same on Thursday night.
Another poll by The Mellman Group suggests only Barrett has room to gain:
While Walker led Barrett by seven points in our survey just last week, our new poll shows Barrett gaining 2 points, moving up to 46%, while Walker lost 2, sliding to 49%, confirming the results of two other publicly released polls showing this to be a 2-3 point race. 
This spring, Walker built a lead by spending tens of millions of dollars bolstering his image and tarnishing his Democratic opponents, with the airwaves largely to himself. Now that Democrats are making a clear case for Barrett and against Walker that lead has diminished substantially. 
During the last week, Barrett cut Walker’s lead in half among independents and still has room to grow in his base – while Walker is earning 92% of the Republican vote, Barrett is getting 88% of Democrats, a number that is sure to rise in Wisconsin’s polarized political climate. 
Wisconsin's worst-in-the-nation jobs record sure can't be helping Walker. Nor can his deer czar, who thinks hunting on public lands is communism.

We Are Wisconsin is the place to go if you're anywhere near the state and have time to put your boots on the ground.