Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is trailing state schools superintendent Tony Evers by 10 points in his reelection bid, according to an NBC News/Marist poll released Thursday.
Walker gets 43 percent of likely voters’ support in the survey, while 53 percent support Evers.
{mosads}Walker also has a significant deficit when comparing the two candidates’ favorability ratings.
Evers has a net-positive favorability rating, with 49 percent of respondents reporting a favorable view of him compared to 38 percent unfavorable, with 24 percent saying they haven’t heard of him or are unsure. Walker’s favorability rating is underwater, with 42 percent of likely voters having a favorable view of him and 54 percent having an unfavorable one.
President Trump’s net-negative approval rating may also serve as an anchor on Walker. About 45 percent of likely Wisconsin voters approve of the job he is doing, while 50 percent say they disapprove. Trump won Wisconsin by less than 1 percent in 2016.
The president has backed Walker, tweeting in August, “Scott Walker is very special and will have another great win in November. He has done a fantastic job as Governor of Wisconsin and will always have my full support and Endorsement!”
Former President Obama endorsed Evers earlier this month.
The Cook Political Report rates the race as a “toss up.”
“While President Trump’s popularity in the state he narrowly carried in 2016 has improved, his standing remains upside down,” Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, told NBC News. “Coupled with the enthusiasm advantage Democrats have over Republicans in the state, Democrats are positioned to hold their Senate seat and lay claim to the governorship.”
A Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday had Walker up 1 point. Marquette and Marist’s methodologies are slightly different.
NBC News/Marist contacted 571 likely Wisconsin voters from Sept. 30-Oct. 3. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percent.