Marquette Poll Finds 80% in State Favored Failed Tax Cut Deal
69% favored it even if it would cause budget deficit. Legislature defeated tax cut-school aid plan.
Gov. Tony Evers takes questions from reporters Monday, May 11, 2026, in Barneveld, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
A new poll shows four out of five Wisconsinites think it was wrong to oppose the tax cut and education funding deal that failed in the Legislature earlier this month.
The legislation would have spent $1.8 billion of the state’s projected $2.5 billion budget surplus on a combination of tax rebate checks for income taxpayers, property tax relief and special education reimbursement for schools.
The bipartisan deal was announced on May 11 by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, who are all retiring this year. It was quickly brought to the Legislature during a special session May 13. It passed the Assembly with bipartisan support but died in the Senate when all 15 Democrats and three Republicans voted against it.
The Marquette University Law School polled 454 Wisconsin adults a week after the bill failed, and 80 percent of them think the Legislature should have passed it.
Unlike other polling topics over the past year, Republicans, independents and Democrats were united behind the surplus spending deal. The survey results show 77 percent of Republicans, 81 percent of independents and 80 percent of Democrats said lawmakers should have supported it.
During the leadup to the vote, most Democratic candidates for governor voiced concerns about the deal, with some claiming it didn’t do enough for schools and spent too much on tax relief. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor, also opposed the bill and called at least one Senate Republican about his concerns, according to WisPolitics.
Among all respondents, 54 percent said it was wrong for Democratic candidates in Wisconsin’s race for governor to oppose the spending deal and 53 percent said it was wrong for Tiffany. The poll also found 65 percent of all respondents said Evers was right to support the measure.
Residents support deal even when asked about possible deficit
Before the bill died, many opponents of the deal claimed it was fiscally irresponsible, since it could lead to a state budget deficit in the future. That possibility was confirmed by an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, which said if there were no other changes in state revenue or spending, the bill would have left a $2.95 billion deficit.
But 69 percent of Marquette poll respondents said even with those concerns, they would have preferred to see an increase in special education funding, property tax reductions and rebate checks this year as opposed to 2027.
Again, the response crossed party lines, with 68 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of independents and 74 percent of those identifying as Democrats saying the relief should have come now.
Since the bipartisan spending package failed, Republicans and Democrats have been trying to assign blame to their political foes ahead of the November midterm elections. The Marquette poll found strong majorities of Republicans, independents and Democrats say this issue will be important to them on election day.
Overall, 73 percent said candidates’ opposition will be somewhat or very important when they get to the ballot box and the remaining 27 percent said it was either not too important or not at all important. That breakdown was similar among Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
The Marquette poll was conducted on May 20 and 21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 percentage points.
Poll: 4 out of 5 Wisconsinites think failed surplus deal should have passed was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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