Wisconsinites split on impeachment
Numbers move quickly amid breaking news
There is increased support for impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump in Wisconsin but voters aren’t on board with his removal from office, according to Wednesday’s results of the Marquette University Law School Poll.
Forty-six percent say there is enough cause for impeachment hearings against 49% who say there isn’t.
But those numbers have moved significantly since April when the poll found 29% backed impeachment hearings while 65% said there was not enough reason to hold such proceedings. That survey was conducted after
Attorney General William Barr released a letter describing contents of the Mueller Report, which probed Russian influence on the 2016 election.
Asked if Trump should be impeached and removed from office, 44% say he should be while 51% say he should not be removed.
The partisan splits were huge. Eighty-eight percent of Democrats favored impeachment and removal and 92% of Republicans were opposed.
“The headline is there is a sort of close divide on whether we should hold impeachment hearings,” poll director Charles Franklin said.
The survey of 799 Wisconsin registered voters was conducted Oct. 13-17, amid a backdrop of fast-breaking developments that included Turkey’s invasion of Syria and a stepped-up impeachment inquiry against Trump.
The survey’s margin of error was plus or minus 4.2%.
Trump continues to hold his own the state, a vital cog in his re-election effort. His job approval was 46%, against 51% disapproval, the poll found.
One potential area of weakness for the president is on foreign policy. Just 37% approved of his handling of foreign policy while 59% disapproved.
Thirty-two percent said the president’s foreign policy has helped America’s standing in the world while 58% said it has hurt.
But on the economy, voters rated him higher, with 51% approving his handling of the economy compared with 45% who disapprove.
Voters were pessimistic on the chances of U.S. and North Korea reaching an agreement on reducing
nuclear weapons in the next year or two. Just 24% said an agreement would be reached, while 66% said there won’t be a deal.
While just 30% said Trump is someone who is honest and 40% said he cares about people like me, 47% said he keeps his campaign promises.
The Democratic presidential field
In head-to-head match-ups between Trump and four top Democrats, only former Vice President Joe Biden had a clear lead over the president, with 50% support to 44% for Trump.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont led Trump by 48% to 46%, while U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts led Trump by 47% to 46%, both results within the poll’s margin of error.
Trump had a lead of 45% to 43% over Pete Buttigieg, the South Bend, Indiana, mayor.
Among those who say they’ll vote in April’s Democratic Party presidential primary, Biden was the first choice of 31% of those polled, followed by Warren at 24%, Sanders at 17%, Buttigieg at 7% and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California at 5%.
Asked about their second choices, Warren gathered 27% support, Biden 19%, Sanders 13%, Buttigieg 10% and Harris 9%.
Biden and Sanders were each viewed favorably by 67% and Warren was at 63%.
Eighty-two percent said they had heard that Sanders had suffered a heart attack. He has since gotten back on the campaign trail.
Thirty-two percent said age matters when considering a choice for president, while 66% said age is unimportant. Those are important numbers since the race is currently dominated by four people in their 70s — Sanders, Biden, Warren and Trump.
On a key issue in the Democratic primary, health care, 51% said they supported a national health plan such as Medicare for All, while 42% were opposed.
Letting people buy-in to a so-called public option for health care was more popular, with 60% in support and 32% in opposition.
On guns, just 42% support a mandatory buyback of assault weapons while 54% oppose such a proposal.
Gov. Tony Evers had a 47% favorable rating against 35% unfavorable. U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (46% favorable-39% unfavorable) and Ron Johnson (40% favorable-29% unfavorable) were also above water in a critical area.
There was also strong support for the state’s small dairy farmers, who have been hurt by several years of low milk prices and the consolidation of the industry.
Sixty-three percent said the federal government should financially support small farms struggling to stay in business, while 30% said it was not the job of the federal government to get involved.
“I think there is generally a very strong sympathy for the culture of the small farms in the state, even though most people don’t have a direct farm connection anymore,” he said. “There’s still sympathy for those small farmers and still a sense that if you think of all of our government agriculture support programs, supporting small dairy farms is not really a radical step.”