Marquette Law School poll: Happ leads Schimel

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A new Marquette University Law School poll shows that Democratic attorney general candidate Susan Happ leads her Republican opponent Brad Schimel with both likely and registered voters.

The results of the poll, released Wednesday afternoon, show that 40 percent of the registered voters polled would vote for Happ, the district attorney in Jefferson County, compared to 33 percent for Schimel, the DA in Waukesha County. Among those likely to vote, 42 percent of those polled chose Happ, compared to 32 percent who chose Schimel.

The poll also showed, though, that most voters polled have yet to form an opinion on either candidate. For Schimel, 76 percent of those polled said they had not heard enough to form an opinion and 11 percent said they don’t know if their opinion is favorable. For Happ, the figures are 73 and 9 percent, respectively.

In addition, 44 percent of registered female voters said they favored Happ, versus 27 percent for Schimel. For registered male voters, 40 percent said they favored Schimel, while 34 percent said they favored Happ. Both candidates also led with their respective genders for likely voters.

Happ beat state Rep. Jon Richards, D-Milwaukee, and Dane County DA Ismael Ozanne in the Democratic primary earlier this month. Schimel was unchallenged in the Republican primary.

Shortly after the poll’s results were announced, Schimel’s campaign released a statement that said the results were “expected” because of television ads Happ ran during the primary. Schimel’s campaign predicts he will win more voters before the November election.

Happ’s campaign released a statement saying that voters are “responding to her record as a tough prosecutor who works across party lines to get the job done.”

According to Marquette, 815 registered voters were interviewed and the poll sample included 609 of those voters. The pollsters also asked potential voters about the governor’s race, as well as their views on certain policies and issues. Follow @eheisigWLJ