Government and Political Roundup: More polling gives Pres. Obama another lead

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A new poll gives President Obama a six-point lead over Republican Mitt Romney in Wisconsin. Quinnipiac University, the New York Times, and C-B-S News interviewed 14-hundred likely voters from July 31st through Monday. And the Democrat Obama leads Romney 51-45-percent. That’s consistent with other polls in the state over the past couple of months. The new poll looked at three swing states – Wisconsin, Virginia, and Colorado. And all three had gender gaps in which women favored Obama, while men endorsed Romney. In Wisconsin, women preferred Obama 59-to-36 percent, while Romney led among men 53-43. Quinnipiac’s Peter Brown said 9-of-every-10 voters are certain about their choices. And just like in the governor’s recall election, the percentage of voters who can be persuaded is relatively small. The Quinnipiac poll said 48-percent of Wisconsin’s independent voters plan to choose Obama in November, while 47-percent favor Romney. The Badger State rated Obama as being better on the economy by a 47-46 margin. And by a 49-43 edge, they said the president would do a better job on health care. The poll’s margin of error is plus-or-minus two-point-six percent.

The final day of the Quinnipiac poll was the day after Wade Michael Page killed six worshippers and three others at the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek. But 57-percent of Wisconsinites in the new poll said tougher gun laws would not prevent such violence. And by a 48-43 margin, state voters said gun laws should not change. But they do favor a nationwide ban on high-capacity magazines by a 57-37 margin.

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A new poll shows that Democrat Tammy Baldwin remains in a tight race with her Republican opponents for the state’s open U-S Senate seat. Quinnipiac University, the New York Times, and C-B-S News found that Baldwin is tied with former Governor Tommy Thompson in a head-to-head match-up at 47-percent apiece. Baldwin leads hedge fund manager Eric Hovde 47-43, and she leads former Congressman Mark Neumann 48-45. Both are beyond the poll’s two-point-six-percent margin of error. Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, the fourth G-O-P candidate, was not listed in a summary of the Quinnipiac poll released this morning. Fitzgerald is a distant fourth in most recent polls with Thompson, Hovde, and Neumann relatively close. Quinnipiac’s Peter Brown says that no matter who wins next week’s Republican primary, the race against Tammy Baldwin quote, “looks like it will be a nail-biter.” The poll was taken from July 31st through Monday. The G-O-P primary is six days away.

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Wisconsin’s First Lady was hospitalized with stomach pains – but the governor says it’s not anything that’s life-threatening. Tonette Walker was undergoing tests at last word. Governor’s spokesman Cullen Werwie said she was in a Milwaukee hospital earlier yesterday and was released – but she went back later in the day. Werwie did not have details about her condition last night. But he said Governor Scott Walker would most likely clear his schedule this morning to be with his wife. Walker was scheduled to speak to cranberry growers near Hancock this morning, and announce the creation of the state’s new Youth Services Office in Janesville. Walker disclosed his wife’s ailment as he excused himself early from a vigil in Oak Creek last night for the victims of the Sikh Temple shooting.

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Two candidates for an open U-S House seat in the Madison area toned down their recent bitter rhetoric during an hour-long debate last night. State Representatives Mark Pocan and Kelda Helen Roys are the leading candidates in a Democratic primary next Tuesday for the House seat given up by U-S Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin. Roys, who’s in her first term in the Assembly, has been attacking the 14-year veteran Pocan in recent T-V ads. One ad accused Pocan of caving in to Republican Governor Scott Walker in voting for a pair of economic development bills. Pocan took the high road in the debate last night. But Roys said it was important to stress Democrats’ differences – because the winner of this election will probably stay in the House for a long time. The candidates generally agreed on the basic issues. They favored bans on assault rifles, and tougher background checks for gun buyers. They agreed on the role Congress should play in improving the economy – and they believed Wisconsin needs a progressive voice in Washington. Security consultant Dennis Hall and attorney Matt Silverman are also in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. The winner will face Republican businessman Chad Lee for the House seat in November.

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Governor Scott Walker will speak as a headliner at the Republican National Convention in Tampa later this month. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus from Wisconsin announced five headliners yesterday. He billed Walker as the first U-S governor to have successfully kept his post in a recall election. The keynote speaker has not been announced. Priebus said other speakers would be unveiled in the coming days for the G-O-P Convention, to be held August 27th through 30th.

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