Empower Wisconsin  | April 29, 2022

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers’ job performance numbers remain above water, but voters are more worried about the direction of the state than ever, according to the latest Marquette University Law School Poll.

Just 36 percent of respondents said the state is heading in the right direction, with 56 percent saying it is not. The psyche of the Badger State has plummeted over Evers’ last two years in office — from a high of 61 percent in late March 2020.

The flagging confidence has much to do with the growing economic and social concerns on the minds of voters.

Marquette Law School’s latest poll found 69 percent of voters surveyed are very concerned about inflation. Only 1 percent are not concerned at all. Inflation has soared to levels not seen in 40 years, eating away at income and savings. Meanwhile, the news got worse Thursday with word that the U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank over the first three months of the year, with real gross domestic product declining 1.4 percent at an annualized pace — a worrisome sign of a recession ahead.

The vast majority of poll respondents (87 percent) are very or somewhat concerned about the state of  public education, and 52 percent are at least somewhat concerned about crime.

“Worry about crime is highest among residents of the City of Milwaukee, followed by those in the rest of the Milwaukee media market and in the Madison media market,” the poll notes.

Milwaukee police reported more than 20 people shot and three killed between Saturday and Monday night. And the state’s largest city is on pace to set another homicide record this year.

The Marquette Law School poll finds support for parental school choice continues to grow. Fifty-eight of respondents support extending vouchers for students to attend private or religious schools statewide and without income limits.

Evers just vetoed a very popular universal school choice bill.