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Poll: Attorney general race a dead heat

By: Eric Heisig//October 15, 2014//

Poll: Attorney general race a dead heat

By: Eric Heisig//October 15, 2014//

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happ-schimelAttorney general candidates Brad Schimel and Susan Happ are tied heading into the Nov. 4 election, according to a Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday afternoon.

According to the poll, 42 percent of likely voters would vote for both Schimel, the Waukesha County district attorney, and Happ, the Jefferson County DA. Sixteen percent of voters are undecided on the race. Among registered voters, both are tied at 39 percent, with 19 percent undecided.

The latest numbers show that support has slightly grown for both candidates, though more for Happ since the last poll was released Oct. 1. In the last poll, 41 percent of likely voters said they would vote for Schimel, while about 39 percent said they would vote for Happ.

The race between Happ, a Democrat, and Schimel, a Republican, has heated up as the election nears. Happ has said she would not defend certain laws that she felt were unconstitutional, such as a gay marriage ban or a voter identification law. Schimel, in turn, has said the attorney general cannot be a “super-legislator” and choose what to support.

Schimel’s supporters, in particular, have hammered Happ for her office’s prosecution of Daniel Reynolds, a Jefferson man charged with sexually assaulting a young girl. Happ and her husband sold land to Reynolds.

Reynolds later pleaded to a reduced charge, though the victim in his case filed a complaint against Happ with the Office of Lawyer Regulation. On Friday, the OLR dismissed the complaint.

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According to a statement from Happ’s campaign, the candidate knew the race would be close.

A statement from Schimel’s campaign, in turn, called Happ “a lenient activist who is not ready to lead the Wisconsin Department of Justice.”

Both candidates are running to succeed outgoing Republican AG J.B. Van Hollen.

For the poll, 1,004 registered voters were called, with 803 of those people identifying themselves as likely voters. There is a 3.2 percent margin of error for the results of the registered voters, with a 3.5 percent margin of error for likely voters, according to the poll.

The Associated Press also contributed to this report.

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