(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford are in a dead heat with 47% of the potential vote heading into the April 1 election, according to a new poll.
Each candidate’s image is 45% favorable, according to OnMessage’s poll of 600 likely Wisconsin voters on March 9-10, conducted for the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.
The candidates have a 7 p.m. Wednesday debate.
“Like many Wisconsin statewide elections, this race is very close and will come down to the wire,” shared WMC Vice President of Government Relations Scott Manley. “This is a winnable race for either candidate right now, and will simply boil down to whichever side does a better job of getting out their voters. It really cannot be overstated how much is on the line.”
The poll showed that 5% of voters are undecided.
Crawford reportedly raised $7.4 million and spent $4.2 million during the race, while Schimel has raised $4.9 million and spent $2.5 million through the end of February, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
That was along with 12 independent committees spending more than $11.5 million on the race.
There has been nearly $59 million spent on the race in total, breaking the previous record, according to WisPolitics.
The poll asked voters what the most important issue is in the supreme court race with 37% saying “fighting to uphold the rule of law,” 20% saying “reducing crime and keeping violent criminals off the streets” and 19% saying “ensuring that abortion is available and accessible in Wisconsin.”
The poll found that Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly has a 33% to 30% lead over challenger Brittany Kinser with 38% undecided in the race.
Underly had a 28% favorability rating compared to 25% unfavorable while Kinser was 23% favorable and 16% unfavorable.
