Unveiling Public Sentiment: An In-Depth Look at the Marquette University Law School Poll

The Marquette Law School Poll, sponsored by the Law School at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serves as a crucial gauge of public opinion on a wide array of political, social, and electoral issues, particularly within the state of Wisconsin. Established in 2011, the poll addresses the pressing need to understand voter motivations and public sentiment on key issues. Through scientifically sound surveys, the Marquette Law School Poll seeks to inform understanding of public opinion and political choice.

Methodology and Reach

Each round of the Marquette Law School Poll involves interviews with more than 700 Wisconsin registered voters by telephone. Unlike many state polls, the Marquette Law School Poll includes cell phones as well as landlines to help ensure a representative sample of all Wisconsin residents. The poll interviews over four nights, which improves the ability to reach voters who may not be available on a particular night. The sample is selected within geographic regions of the state of Wisconsin to ensure proportionate representation of all areas of the state. Telephone numbers are dialed randomly within a list of all area codes and exchanges in the state. Cell numbers are selected similarly from working cell exchanges.

The poll has a margin of error which varies according to the number of respondents. For example, a margin of error of 3.8 percent means that 95 percent of the time, a poll of this size will produce results within 3.8 percentage points of what would be found if all registered voters in the state were interviewed.

Key Findings from Recent Polls

The Marquette Law School Poll consistently provides valuable insights into the attitudes and opinions of Wisconsin voters. Several key themes and findings emerge from the recent polls conducted in February 2026.

Supreme Court Election

A recent Marquette Law School Poll survey of Wisconsin registered voters finds that, with six weeks to go until the April 7 Supreme Court election, 66% say they haven’t decided whom they will vote for. Those who have made a decision support Chris Taylor with 17% to Maria Lazar at 12%. Only 6% say they have heard a lot about the Court race, while 55% have heard a little and 38% have heard nothing at all. In October, 6% had heard a lot, 46% had heard a little, and 47% had heard nothing. The survey was conducted Feb. 11-19, 2026, interviewing 818 Wisconsin registered voters, with a margin of error of +/-4.3 percentage points.

Read also: Marquette Academics and Rankings

Registered voters say they haven’t learned enough to have a clear idea of what the candidates in the April 7 election for the Supreme Court stand for. Twenty-one percent are clear about Taylor and 15% are clear about Lazar. There has been some increase in knowledge of the candidates since October, but most voters say they are unclear or haven’t heard enough.

A substantial majority now say they haven’t heard enough about either candidate to have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of them. The ability to recognize and give a favorable or unfavorable rating, as well as the ability to recognize the name of each candidate, stands below 30% for both Lazar and Taylor. In each case, the ID recognition and the ability to give an opinion of the candidates is a little higher than in October. Taylor’s net favorable rating is slightly positive, while Lazar’s is slightly negative.

As in October, a large majority of voters, 84% in this poll, want judicial candidates to talk about issues so voters know where they stand, while 15% say candidates should avoid giving the appearance of having prejudged cases that may come before them on the court.

Gubernatorial Primaries

Registered voters have generally not heard much about the governor’s election in the second half of the year, with 8% hearing a lot, 58% hearing a little, and 35% hearing nothing at all. Most of the gubernatorial candidates are unfamiliar to most voters. Senate general-election candidate, has a name ID above 50%. Rep. Tom Tiffany is the second best-known of all candidates, with a name ID of 46%.

Almost two-thirds of registered voters say they haven’t decided on a candidate in either the Democratic or Republican gubernatorial primaries. In the Republican primary, 35% support Tiffany and 2% chose Manske. On the Democratic side, Hong is the choice of 11% and Barnes is supported by 10%.

There is some regional variation in candidate name recognition, the most substantial being that Tiffany has higher name recognition in the north and western media markets of the state, where 59% have an opinion of him. Barnes has a name ID above 50% in each media market of the state, and above 60% in three of the four regions, while Tiffany is below 50% except in the north and west. Crowley is considerably better known in the Milwaukee market than elsewhere, while the other candidates have only moderate variation across markets.

Attorney General Candidates

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney has a name ID of 25%, with 15% favorable and 10% unfavorable. While Kaul is better known, both candidates have a net favorability of +5 points. Kaul is about equally well known to Democrats and Republicans, while Toney is better known to Republicans than Democrats.

Data Centers

A majority of voters statewide, 70%, say the costs of large data centers are greater than the benefits they provide, while 29% say the benefits outweigh the costs. A large partisan divide has emerged over data centers after only slight partisan differences were present in October. Opinion among Republicans is virtually unchanged, with a small majority saying costs outweigh benefits. But opposition among independents has surged by 21 percentage points, and opposition has increased by 29 percentage points among Democrats.

Among benefits, “create new jobs for technical workers and others” was most often cited as a benefit, followed by local tax revenues. Construction jobs ranked third, and establishing a new industry in the state was fourth. The least-cited benefit was developing artificial intelligence. On the cost side, water use was most frequently mentioned, with more than half choosing this, followed by those saying we should not develop artificial intelligence. The effect of data centers on the cost of electricity was well behind the first two and close to the potential for requiring new electric generating plants. The shift from agricultural to industrial land use was the least-mentioned cost of data centers.

Of those who have heard a lot, 74% say the costs outweigh the benefits, as do 68% of those hearing a little and 73% of those hearing nothing at all.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Wisconsin registered voters have a negative opinion of the way Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, is enforcing immigration laws. Forty-four percent approve and 56% disapprove. Opinion is sharply divided along partisan lines.

Border Patrol Shooting

In this poll, 36% say the shooting was justified, while 61% say it was not justified.

Second Amendment Rights

Seventy-one percent say he had a constitutional right to possess that gun, while 28% say it should be illegal to possess a gun at a protest.

Deportation

A significant majority (64%) of Wisconsin registered voters favor deportation of “immigrants who are living in the United States illegally,” with 36% opposed. When the question adds, “even if they have lived here for a number of years, have jobs, and no criminal record?,” those in favor of deportation falls to 40% and opposition rises to 60%.

National Issues and the Supreme Court

The Marquette Law School Poll also delves into public opinion on national issues and the Supreme Court's role. A key area of focus is the balance of power between the executive and judicial branches.

Presidential Tariff Authority

The Supreme Court is considering Trump v. Cook, a case concerning the president’s attempt to fire a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. In the current poll, 35% say the Court should rule that the president can remove Federal Reserve governors, while 64% say the president should not be held to have that power.

Independence of the Federal Reserve

In the January survey, 76% say the Federal Reserve should be independent of political control.

Supreme Court's Objectivity

More than half, 57%, of those polled say the Court is going out of its way to avoid ruling against Trump, while 43% say the Court is not doing so.

Compliance with Supreme Court Decisions

A large majority (82%) of adults believe that the president must obey a Supreme Court decision, with 17% who say the president can ignore a decision with which he disagrees.

Approval of the Supreme Court

Approval of the Supreme Court’s handling of its job has fallen from 50% in September to 44% in January.

Awareness of the Justices

The justices are not familiar to most Americans, despite their positions on the high court.

Favorability of the Justices

Sotomayor has the highest net favorability of the justices, followed by Kagan and Jackson-a cluster of the three liberal justices. Roberts is barely net positive, Gorsuch a net of zero, and Barrett and Alito are slightly net negative. Thomas and Kavanaugh are the most net negative in terms of favorability of the justices. There is strong party polarization in views of the justices.

Factors Influencing Public Opinion

The Marquette Law School Poll consistently reveals the influence of partisanship on public opinion. Republicans and Democrats often hold starkly different views on issues, while independents tend to fall somewhere in the middle.

Partisan Divisions

Opinion of this case is not purely a partisan divide. While 67% of Republicans think the Court should rule for the president’s authority, 33% think the authority should be limited. Democrats overwhelmingly favor such limits (92%), and 69% of independents also favor limiting the president’s authority.

Partisans are divided on how the Court should rule, with 35% of Republicans saying the president should not be able to remove members, while 65% think that he should. Independents largely oppose giving the president authority over membership on the Board of Governors (68%), as do 92% of Democrats.

Attention to Politics

The Supreme Court is not the center of attention for most of the public. In January, 23% said they had read or heard a lot about the Court in the last month, 63% had heard only a little, and 14% had heard nothing at all.

tags: #marquette #university #law #school #poll #explained