Survey to cover state of race after Rodriguez exit, Crowley reentry

MILWAUKEE — Marquette University Law School will release the results of a statewide poll of Democratic primary voters with an in-person event featuring Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll, and Derek Mosley, director of the school’s Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education, on Wednesday, July 29, at 11:00 a.m. CDT, at Marquette Law School’s Eckstein Hall.

Note the time is different from traditional releases.

A complete news release and poll data, including toplines, crosstabs, and slides from the discussion, will be available on the Marquette Law School Poll website at noon, following the event. The event is free and open to the public; registration is required and available online. The program will be available to stream live online on the Marquette Law School website.

Interview availability with Franklin will include a gaggle for media in attendance following the program. Additional virtual and phone interviews will be available in the afternoon. Media interested in attending or scheduling an interview should contact Kevin Conway, associate director of university communication, at kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu in advance.

The Marquette Law School Poll’s survey of Wisconsin Democratic primary voters follows the suspension of the campaign of Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and the reentry into the race of Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. The survey will focus only on the Democratic primary and measure opinion about Crowley, vote choice in the primary, and awareness of the endorsement by Gov. Tony Evers. The survey will also measure how much change may have taken place between the completion of the previous poll on July 16 and the exit and entry of candidates after that date.

The Marquette Law School Poll has achieved considerable renown through its surveys of Wisconsin and the nation more generally. Established in 2012, it has become the most extensive statewide polling project in Wisconsin history, setting the standard for public opinion research in the state. Since 2019, the Law School’s surveys of national public opinion about the U.S. Supreme Court and selected political issues have expanded the work of the poll both geographically and topically.

This work has been nationally recognized for its accuracy and transparency. Among more than 500 pollsters across the United States, for example, the Marquette Law School Poll has been ranked second by Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin. 

Franklin has directed the poll since its inception in 2012. A professor of law and public policy at Marquette Law School, Franklin also served on the ABC News election night Decision Desk from 2002 to 2020. He is a past president of the Society for Political Methodology and an elected fellow of the society; he holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan.

Mosley has served as director of the Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education since 2023. Under his leadership, the Law School’s Lubar Center has expanded its programming to include sessions during Black History Month and on unconscious bias, as well as Heritage Dinners in the community. A 1995 graduate of Marquette Law School, Mosley served as a judge of the Milwaukee Municipal Court for 20 years.

Through public programming such as the Marquette Law School Poll, “On the Issues” conversations with newsmakers, public lectures by leading scholars, conferences on issues of public significance, and the work of its Lubar Center, Marquette Law School seeks to advance civil discourse about law and public policy matters.