Marquette Law School Poll measures statewide races and issues

MILWAUKEE, WI—(CIVIC MEDIA)—The latest Marquette Law School Poll digs into how Wisconsin voters feel about gubernatorial, Supreme Court, and Attorney General candidates. It also closely examines opinions on hot-button topics such as data centers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Poll Results on statewide races

Wisconsin Supreme Court

Latest data from the Marquette Law School Poll shows voters in Wisconsin are clearly undecided in the Wisconsin Supreme Court Race and in both party primaries for the Gubernatorial election. 

In a presentation last week, Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll since 2012, said with just 6 weeks remaining until the nonpartisan ballot in April, 66 percent don’t know who they will support for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice. The candidates are liberal-leaning Chris Taylor and conservative-leaning Maria Lazar. 

“There is a small difference. Lazar is at 12% support and Taylor at 17. So a five-point Taylor advantage and that big 66 out to the side,” Franklin said. 

Governor

The same can be said for the gubernatorial primaries coming up in August. 

In the Republican primary for Governor, 35% of voters support Tom Tiffany, 2% support Andrew Manske, and 63% are undecided. 

On the Democratic Side, 65% of the voters polled haven’t picked a candidate. 

Francesca Hong is the front-runner with 11%, with Mandella Barnes close behind at 10%. Sarah Rodrequez is in third place with 6% of the vote… the remaining five Democratic candidates have 5% or less.  

“ So the point to take away from this is this has less to do with the individual vagaries of the race and has a lot to do with the fact that Wisconsin voters just haven’t tuned into any of this year’s elections here in February,” said Franklin.

Attorney General

One of this year’s partisan elections is a repeat ballot. In 2022, Attorney General Josh Kaul narrowly defeated Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney. This year, Toney seeks, again, to unseat the two-term incumbent. 

The latest Marquette Law School Poll finds that 10 months before the election, voters view both candidates favorably.

“We love us some attorney general candidates,” Franklin said. “I exaggerate a little bit. But not hugely. Both Eric Toney and Josh Kaul have slightly net positive favorability ratings. Both of them have a plus 5.” 

Franklin says Kaul is better known, with 56% of poll respondents saying they had no opinion of Kaul, compared with 75% of poll respondents with no opinion of Toney. 

Data Centers

Do the benefits of data centers outweigh the costs? Well, it depends on who you ask. 

According to the latest Marquette Law School Poll, 45 percent of Republicans surveyed think they do. Only 24% of Independents and 15% of Democrats see the benefits coming out on top. 

“We don’t like them!” said Franklin. “And we don’t like them compared to where we were in October. Only 29 percent said the benefits outweighed the costs of Data Centers. 70 percent said the costs outweighed the benefits. ” 

ICE

According to the latest Marquette Law School Poll conducted in mid-February, Wisconsin registered voters have a negative opinion of how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been enforcing immigration laws. 56% disapprove, and only 44 percent approve. But, Poll Director Charles Franklin said the divide really shows a split down party lines: “That party split is not unexpected, but given how controversial ICE’s actions in Minnesota, both on the enforcement side as well as on the shooting side–It is striking how strong Republican support for ICE enforcement remains. There’s been a lot of talk that the events in Minneapolis would change the country’s opinions. I think it probably does change Independents some, but it’s certainly not evaporating support for ICE among Republicans.” Among Republicans, 87% approve of how ICE is doing its job, while 76% of independents and 97% of Democrats disapprove. 

Poll Details

The most recent Marquette Law School Poll survey was conducted between Feb. 11-19, 2026. It surveyed 818 Wisconsin registered voters, and has a margin of error of +/-4.3.

Read more on the poll, along with an in-depth analysis of poll results here.