Hong Leads Democratic Primary for Governor Once Again in New Marquette Poll

Francesca Hong speaks to the Milwaukee Club. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

The upheaval within the Democratic primary for governor was so significant that Marquette University Law School had to release two surveys of Wisconsin voters in one week. The latest results show democratic socialist Francesca Hong has pulled away from her remaining four challengers.

The Marquette poll asked 407 Democratic primary voters from July 22 through July 27 about who they support for governor. It was a bit of a do-over for Marquette pollster Charles Franklin and his team because their survey just weeks before was disrupted when Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out of the race, with Crowley relaunching his campaign soon after.

The current slate of candidates remained intact while the latest Marquette Survey was in the field. Of the respondents, 38 percent said they’d vote for Hong on August 11. That’s a 12 point jump from last week’s Marquette results, which included Rodriguez. Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes came in a distant second with 16 percent. Crowley’s relaunch didn’t appear to have caught respondents attention, as just 7 percent said they’d vote for him. Because he dropped out when Marquette’s last survey was in the field, he wasn’t included in last week’s results.

State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, and Former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan were tied in last place with just two percent of respondents supporting them in the newest Marquette survey.

There’s been a plurality of polls in the final days of the August 11 primary race and they’ve all shown Hong ahead. The largest margin for her came in a poll released Tuesday by nonprofit State Navigate, which was funded by two liberal groups. The survey showed Hong with a commanding 44 percent among Democratic respondents, compared to 15 percent for Crowley and 14 percent for Barnes.

Whoever emerges from Democrats’ primary will likely compete in the general election with Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who isn’t facing any major GOP primary challengers. As Democrats’ wide field has split donor resources, Republicans have united behind Tiffany, helping him raise more than $8 million in his latest campaign finance report.

Hong leads Democratic primary for governor once again in new Marquette poll was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.