Gov. Scott Walker (WRN File photo)
There’s little for Governor Scott Walker to cheer about in the latest Marquette University Law School poll. Released Thursday afternoon, the poll of 803 registered voters found widespread disapproval for the governor himself and many of the key proposals included in his state budget plan.
Speaking with reporters on Thursday from Spain, where he’s wrapping up a trade mission, Walker put some of the blame for his poor performance on the ongoing state budget process. Walker said “I think you look consistently, not just with me but with other governors in the past, typically the lower points they are at in terms of polling is right at the time of budgets.”
Among the findings, just 41 percent of respondents said they approve of the job Walker is doing, while 56 percent disapprove. More than half, 53 percent, said the state is on the wrong track right now, while 52 percent said Wisconsin is lagging other states in job creation.
Several key proposals in the governor’s budget plan also drew a strong negative response. Of those polled, 78 percent opposed cutting $127 million from the K-12 public school budget, 79 percent oppose the state borrowing money for a new Milwaukee Bucks arena, and just 51 percent support $1.3 billion in borrowing to pay for state transportation projects.
Walker said he expects public opinion will shift, as people gain a better understanding of the positive impacts of his plan. For example, he said many people initially oppose the government getting involved in keeping the Bucks in Milwaukee, but that often changes when they find out losing the team would create a $10 million budget hole.
Walker said much of the attention the budget so far has been on the tough decisions he faced in crafting the plan, while there’s been very little time spent talking about the positive impacts. He said “there’s a lot of hype about what may happen, but I think in the end…people are going to be overwhelmingly pleased.”