Marquette Law School poll: governor’s race remains close

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) — A new poll shows the race between Republican Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic challenger Mary Burke remains close.

The Marquette law school poll released Wednesday says 48 percent of registered voters would vote for Walker and 41 percent support Burke. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

A Marquette poll conducted in January had nearly the same results.

The poll of 801 registered voters was done between March 20 and 23. It is the first poll since the two campaigns started advertising in the governor’s race.

The poll also found less than half of registered Wisconsin voters approve of the job Gov. Scott Walker is doing.

The poll says 47 percent of voters approve of how the Republican governor is handling his job. The same portion disapprove, and 6 percent are unsure.

Pollster Charles Franklin says the numbers show “a little bit of a tick downward” in Walker’s approval rating. A January poll found 51 approved of Walker’s job performance.

The poll also asks how voters see Walker as a person. Forty-nine percent see him favorably and 47 percent unfavorably, about the same as in January.