Trump, DeSantis neck and neck with Wisconsin voters as Biden retains support in the state

Voters in Wisconsin are torn on who to support in the GOP race for president, with former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis neck and neck in the hotly contested White House race, a recently released poll shows.

The Marquette University Law School Poll, which was conducted from June 8 to June 13 and released Wednesday, shows Trump narrowly leading DeSantis 31% to 30%, well within the poll’s margin of error of +/-4.3 percentage points.

Following DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence picked up six percent support in the poll, South Carolina GOP Sen. Tim Scott received five percent support, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley received three percent support, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy picked up three percent support.

Asked who they would vote for if the only two options in the Republican presidential primary were DeSantis and Trump, respondents to the survey chose DeSantis over Trump 57% to 41%. Forced to choose between the two prominent Republicans, those whose first choice is someone other than DeSantis or Trump selected DeSantis by 74% to Trump’s 25%.

Sixty-eight percent of Republicans and independents who lean Republican said they view Trump favorably, followed by DeSantis at 67%, Pence at 52%, and Haley at 32%.

Despite the large swath of support for both Trump and DeSantis in the Badger State, both would lose in a hypothetical matchup against the incumbent president. In both cases, however, four percent of respondents either declined to choose or were undecided.

If the election were held today, with DeSantis being the Republican nominee against President Biden, it would be a pretty close race. Forty-nine percent said they would vote for Biden, with 47% saying the same for DeSantis.

As for an election rematch between Trump and Biden in 2024, a victory for Republicans is more bleak, according to the poll results. Fifty-two percent of respondents said they would vote for Biden, compared to 43% who said the same for Trump.

The poll also showed that Biden still leads both of his Democratic challengers, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and author Marianne Williamson, in the race for the White House. Among Democratic voters and independents who lean Democratic, the incumbent president received a 97% favorability rating. Kennedy and Williamson received a combined 60% favorability rating.

The Marquette University Law School Poll outlined above was compiled using the responses of 913 Wisconsin registered voters. The sample includes 419 Republicans and independents who lean Republican and were asked about their preferences in the Republican presidential primary, with a margin of error of +/-6.5 percentage points. The Democratic primary preference was asked of 453 Democrats and independents who lean Democratic, with a margin of error of +/-6 percentage points.