Wisconsin voters remain sour on national economy, poll finds

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin voters remain disgruntled about the state of the national economy and are faring slightly worse financially than last year, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

Marquette Law School conducted the survey of 822 registered Wisconsin voters from Aug. 28 to Sept. 5. The survey makeup consisted of 35% Republicans, 32% Democrats, and 32% Independents. The results have a +/-4.6 margin of error.

A mere 3% of respondents believe the national economy is “excellent,” versus 30% saying the economy is “poor.” Thirty-two percent think the economy is “good,” and 35% said “not so good.”

The results are only a slight improvement from a year ago, when 37% of poll respondents categorized the economy as poor.

“Views of the national economy have not changed very much,” Franklin said. “Certainly no sign of ‘morning again in America,’ as Ronald Reagan put it back in the eighties, but also no particular sign of impending doom and recession either.”

Wisconsin voters are slightly more hopeful about their state’s situation, with 46% believing it is heading in the right direction and 53% believing it is on the wrong track. This view has remained essentially unchanged in the past few months, but better than a year ago when only 36% thought the state was headed in the right direction, and 62% said it was on the wrong track.

“The main point here is, you see that the people are still pretty pessimistic about the state, more people still say [it’s going in] the wrong direction. But it’s improved a little bit from where it has been,” Director of the Marquette poll Charles Franklin said.

The poll also revealed Wisconsinites’ financial situations have slowly continued to decline since last year, with 44% of respondents answering they are currently living comfortably, down from nearly 50% last year. Thirty-eight percent reported they are just getting by, and 17% say they are struggling–both two points higher than in 2023.

The results come as the majority of Wisconsin business owners report their operation costs increased by roughly 20% under the Biden administration, and the median sale price of a home has increased in swing states by nearly 40% since 2020.