I wanted to make sure you saw IRG’s latest poll in its public polling project, broken exclusively on the Dan O’Donnell Show. The poll examines how and why voters make the decisions they did in the Spring elections.

“What you are about to hear is an exclusive poll release from the Institute for Reforming Government as well as the Napolitan News Service with pollster Scott Rasmusen and his Rasmusen Research. Now, you might have heard me talking about one of the polls, a couple of the polls actually, during the Supreme Court race and people were taking issue with Rasmusen. Well, it turns out he was the second most accurate pollster in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, also one of the most accurate pollsters here in Wisconsin during the 2024 presidential election.” - Dan O’Donnell

Listen to IRG’s Chris Reader on the Benjamin Yount Show:

Some takeaways from the poll:

• Tough on crime was important to voters but it was not the most impactful issue for their choice of candidate:
  • 52% of all voters and 59% of Independents said claims Schimel was weak on criminal had no impact on their vote
  • 55% said that claims Schimel was bought off with campaign contributions influenced their vote, 30% of Republicans said the same
  • 63% said that claims Schimel would rule to prevent abortion influenced their vote
• Abortion continues to dominate elections:
  • 82% of all voters thought abortion was an important issue
  • 70% of Independents said abortion was an important issue
  • 47% of Independents identified that Schimel potentially ruling to prevent abortion as influencing their vote
  • 30% say that Susan Crawford’s support for abortion rights was the most important issue leading to her election
• In a low-turnout Spring Election where over 635,000 Trump voters stayed home, the race became a referendum on Trump and Elon Musk—with significant consequences.
  • 59% disapprove of Musk, including 64% of Independents
• Tariffs and DOGE are unpopular: 62% and 50% unfavorable, respectively
  • Stopping Trump’s agenda was a key motivator:
    • 75% of all voters and 53% of Independents cited it as influential
    • 30% said it was the most important issue for voting for Susan Crawford
    • 48% were turned off by Schimel’s ties to Trump and Musk—double the number who cited abortion rights (24%)
• In IRG’s January Poll, results foreshadowed that voters were interested in more than just tough on crime:
  • 91% of voters wanted Justices to make decisions based on the Constitution and law, not their own political preferences
  • 52% intended to select the candidate that cares about issues important to them, 27% intended to choose candidate who is tough on crime