WI-GOV: Marquette poll (Gold standard): Hong, Barnes top Democratic primary for governor, but most voters undecided
A new poll released Wednesday by Marquette University Law School shows former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes has more name recognition than any other candidate for governor — but he isn’t Democratic voters’ clear first choice.
Marquette surveyed 818 registered Wisconsin voters from Feb. 11-19. It found 58 percent had only heard “a little” about the candidates running for governor, while 35 percent had heard “nothing at all.” Among Democratic primary voters, 65 percent reported they hadn’t made a choice.
But among those who have, results show former Barnes and state Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, are essentially tied when the survey’s margin of error is taken into account.
That’s notable because the Marquette poll found Barnes was the only candidate in the race with name recognition higher than 50 percent, which was well ahead of his Democratic opponents, and even ahead of GOP candidate Tom Tiffany. Barnes’ recognition comes from his previous statewide race for Lt. Gov. in 2018 and his unsuccessful 2022 U.S. Senate race against Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.
https://www.wpr.org/news/marquette-poll-hong-barnes-democratic-primary-governor-supreme-court-undecided