Marquette poll takeaways: voters undecided; majority oppose data centers

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (CIVIC MEDIA) – A majority of Wisconsin voters are still undecided about the primary for governor in 2026.

70 percent of Republicans and 81 percent of Democrats haven’t picked a candidate, according to a Marquette Law School poll released October 29.

The primary for governor will take place in August 2026. But a seat on the state Supreme Court is on the ballot in April. According to the poll, two announced candidates are also largely unknown.

Waukesha-based appeals court Judge Maria Lazar has 15 percent name recognition. For Madison-based appeals court Judge Chris Taylor, it’s 16 percent. The two are tied in favorability at 7 percent.

Another emergent issue in the most recent Marquette Law School poll is large data centers: 55 percent of voters say the costs outweigh the benefits.

Charles Franklin is the director of the Marquette Law School Poll.  He says party lines aren’t clear on the issue.

“This is a new issue. It’s not like we’ve had a huge debate for years the way we have about the affordable care act,” Franklin said. “So, the partisan lines are not clearly drawn at this point. If we see partisan leadership running campaigns and talking about these issues, you’d expect to see a great party divide in the future.”

Franklin says that could change if campaigns begin to stake out positions.

“Check back in a year or two years and see if that party divide has developed on this issue.”

Finally, local school tax referendums aren’t as popular as they once were. For the first time, a majority of voters – 57 percent – say they’d be inclined to vote against a referendum to increase taxes for their local schools. 43 percent of voters say they would vote for it.

The poll interviewed over 800 voters over a one-week period in mid-October. It has a margin of error of +/-4.5 percentage points.