Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has taken a firm 50 - 45 percent lead among likely voters over Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke, according to the latest Marquette Law School Poll.
Walker's five-point lead in the latest Marquette poll, conducted September 25-28, is a marked improvement over the last Marquette poll, conducted September 11-14, which only showed Walker up by three points, 49 percent to 46 percent.
Voter opinions of Walker haven't budged over the past two weeks, with both Walker's job approval rating (51/47) and favorable rating (52/46) now at nearly identical levels (52/47 job approval, 52/46 favorable).
But voter perceptions of Burke have fallen sharply. Earlier this month Burke enjoyed a modest net favorability rating at 41/39. But now Burke is underwater with 44 percent of likely voters telling Marquette they have an unfavorable opinion of Burke, and just 40 percent saying they have a favorable opinion of her.
Burke's plagiarized jobs plan appears to be a big reason voters are abandoning her. More than 63 percent of respondents heard about Burke's plagiarized jobs plan, and almost a fifth of respondents said the incident made them less likely to vote for Burke.
The Marquette Law School Poll has a stellar reputation in Wisconsin, correctly predicting Walker's 2012 recall win.