Incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes are neck and neck in Wisconsin’s Senate race, according to a new CNN poll.
The new survey found Johnson up just 1 percentage point among likely Wisconsin voters, with 50 percent saying they’d learn toward the Republican if the election were held today and 49 percent saying the same of Barnes. Notably, the margin of error was 4.5 percentage points.
The small margins indicate a tight race with the midterms just two weeks away.
Nearly all of the likely voters, or 94 percent, said their minds were made up about their chosen candidate, leaving 6 percent who might change their mind before the November election.
Johnson also holds a 2-point lead over Barnes in favorability ratings among likely voters, with 46 percent saying they have a favorable opinion of the Republican and 44 percent saying the same of the Democrat.
The incumbent’s leads were reversed, however, when the CNN poll results were expanded to include all registered voters in the state.
Barnes enjoyed a 4-point lead over Johnson if the election were held today among all registered voters, and a 2-point lead in favorability.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has rated the battleground Senate race as a toss-up, and other recent polling has shown the two candidates nearly deadlocked as the midterms draw nearer.
The CNN poll was conducted Oct. 13-17 and surveyed 905 registered Wisconsin voters, 714 of whom were likely voters. The margin of error was 4.2 percentage points overall and 4.5 percentage points among likely voters.