Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) and Republican challenger Tim Michels are in a deadlocked race for Wisconsin’s governor just four weeks ahead of Election Day.
Both Evers and Michels have garnered 50% of the vote in the Badger State, according to a new CBS News-YouGov poll, putting the two in a dead heat in a high-profile governor’s race that could determine the shift of power in the state over the next four years. However, Evers may hold the advantage because 53% of voters said they like how the incumbent handles himself compared to just 43% who said the same for Michels.
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The race has gained attention over the last several months as Republicans hope to unseat the Democratic incumbent in order to gain control of both the state legislature and the governor’s mansion.
Evers has often clashed with the GOP-led legislature on areas such as education spending and abortion, with the Democratic governor often acting as the last hurdle before bills get passed in the state. That position has become especially crucial for Democrats after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade over the summer, returning abortion’s legality to the states.
Evers and Michels stand on opposite sides of the abortion debate. While Evers has consistently vetoed anti-abortion laws passed by state lawmakers over the last several years, Michels has painted himself as an anti-abortion advocate, aligning himself with the views of the GOP-controlled legislature.
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Voters are also more likely to side with Michels’s policies on crime, with 43% of voters saying they’d feel safer with the Republican in office compared to 31% who said the same for the Democratic incumbent, according to the poll. Crime has emerged as one of the top concerns in the state, with 88% of Wisconsin voters saying they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about crime, according to a poll from Marquette University Law School in August.
The CBS News-YouGov poll surveyed 1,285 registered voters in Wisconsin between Oct. 3-7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
