Biden widens lead to 8 points over Trump in Wisconsin: poll

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has opened up an 8 point lead over President Trump in the critical battleground state of Wisconsin, according to a new survey that finds Trump’s support eroding among Republicans.

The latest Marquette University poll finds Biden at 49 percent and Trump at 41 percent. Last month, Biden led 46 percent to 43 percent in the same survey. In February, Biden and Trump were tied at 46 percent each.

The poll also found Trump’s support among Republicans dropped by 10 points since May, from 93 percent to 83 percent.

The president also had a 7 point lead among independents last month, but now Biden leads among these swing voters by 8 points.

Trump will visit a shipyard in Marinette on Thursday, his first trip to Wisconsin since January.

In 2016, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Wisconsin since 1984. But Trump carried the state by less than 1 point over Hillary Clinton and Democrats believe they can win it back in 2020. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to take place in Milwaukee in August.

The Marquette poll found that 45 percent of Wisconsin voters approve of the job Trump is doing, against 51 percent who disapprove. That’s down from a 47 percent-49 percent split in May. In February, Trump’s job approval was at break-even, with 48 percent approving and 48 percent disapproving.

The president’s job approval rating among independents has swung sharply lower, from 50 percent positive in May to 36 percent positive in June.

Fifty percent say they approve of the job Trump is doing on the economy, down from 54 percent last month.

On the coronavirus, Trump’s job approval rating is at 44 percent positive and 52 percent negative.

Only 30 percent of Wisconsin voters approve of Trump’s handling of the protests in response to the death of George Floyd during an arrest by police in Minneapolis.

The Marquette University survey of 805 registered voters in Wisconsin was conducted between June 14 and June 18 and has a 4.3 percentage point margin of error.