Poll: Bad News for Doyle, Good News for Walker

Some new polls have bad news for Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle.

State residents really don't approve of the job he's doing.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Two polls conducted last week put Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle's approval ratings between 34% and 43%. Doyle is expected to seek a third term in November 2010.

In separate surveys:

• Doyle's approval rating was 43% and disapproval rating 48%, with the 9% remaining undecided or unsure, in a survey by Daily Kos/Research 2000 conducted June 8 to 10. The poll of 600 likely voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

• An automated phone poll by Public Policy Polling showed that 34% supported Doyle's record, 60% disapproved and 6% were unsure. The June 9 to 10 poll of 2006 or '08 voters had a margin of error of plus or minus of 4.1 percentage points, according to Tom Jensen, a spokesman for the Raleigh, N.C., company that conducted the poll.

But state Democratic Party spokesman Alec Loftus called the methodology in the Public Policy poll "notoriously unreliable" because all a respondent had to do was push buttons on the telephone to participate.

That "essentially means that 5-year-olds could have voted" in the survey, Loftus said.

The Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll is much more reliable, Loftus said, because it was done with "legitimate methodology."

The Dems can whine about methology but both polls arrive at the same conclusion -- Wisconsinites are not happy with Doyle.

Loftus wouldn't be praising the Daily Kos poll (Yes, Daily Kos!) unless he preferred the results over those from Public Policy Polling.

Public Policy Polling has some interesting numbers on the gubernatorial race.

Again, bad news for Doyle. Doyle's bad news is Scott Walker's good news.

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle is suffering from a poor approval rating and trails two possible 2010 opponents, the newest survey from Public Policy Polling finds.

60% of voters in the state say they disapprove of Doyle’s work in office, with just 34% approving. While Doyle continues to maintain a decent 61% approval from Democrats, just 6% of Republicans think he’s doing a good job. He also meets with disapproval from 69% of independent voters.

In possible 2010 contests, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker leads Doyle 48-40 and former Congressman Mark Neumann holds a 42-41 advantage. It’s safe to say the early lead for the Republicans has more to do with Doyle than it does with either of them individually, as just 33% of voters in the state have a favorable opinion of Walker and 26% have one of Neumann.

Wisconsinites really have had it with Doyle.

They have reason to feel duped by Doyle.

Time for a change.

Right now, Scott Walker appears to offer the change that Wisconsinites want.