The latest Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday shows Gov. Scott Walker with a lead of 5 percentage points over Democratic rival Mary Burke among likely voters. The two are tied among registered voters.

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Republican Gov. Scott Walker led Democratic challenger Mary Burke 50%-45% in a Marquette University Law School poll Wednesday, ending a five-month streak of surveys that showed a statistical dead heat.

Walker built up his support among male voters and got more backing from independent voters since the last poll two weeks ago.

"I think the headline is that Scott Walker takes the lead, by a small margin, for the first time since May, " the poll's director, Charles Franklin, told reporters.

"This race has been tied and inside the margin of error for almost five months now. And this is the first time that we have seen any candidate with even a small but statistically meaningful advantage.

"Whether it persists is, of course, the wide open story."

Among registered voters, Walker had 46% to Burke's 45%. But with five weeks until the Nov. 4 election, Franklin said the results for those who describe themselves as likely voters should be given more weight.

In the race for attorney general, the candidates were virtually tied, but most voters said they did not know enough about them to have an opinion.

Walker said he believed the poll results could mean intensified attacks on him.Burke's campaign manager, Joe Zepecki, said in a statement the governor's race remains tight.

"That this race remains too close to call shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone," he said. "Over the last two weeks, Governor Walker has stepped up the mudslinging and false, negative attacks in a desperate attempt to distract from his failed record."

The results highlighted a strong gender gap between Walker and Burke.

For likely voters, Walker is doing better among men than Burke is among women. Walker had a 62%-34% advantage over Burke with men. Burke had a 54%-40% advantage over Walker with women.

Burke and other Democrats have argued that Walker's policies are bad for women. On Wednesday, Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood Federation of American and Planned Parenthood Action Fund campaigned for Burke in Madison and Milwaukee.

The size of Walker's advantage among men — 28 points — helps explain his overall gain in the latest poll. Past polls have shown Walker with stronger support from men and Burke from women, but the size of their leads have been volatile.

Walker acknowledged he had a gap in support among women, but said he is no different than most Republicans around the country.

"I think the bigger trend is not if I have a gender question, it's actually that she's off the chart from where a Democrat normally is, gender-wise, with male voters as opposed to female," Walker told reporters during a stop at Lakeshore Technical College near Sheboygan.

Walker also saw growingsupport from independent voters, leading Burke 53%-40%. That compares to a 50%-43% lead by Walker two weeks ago.

When asked whether independents could swing the election, Franklin said, "Independents are certainly better to have than not have — they are not necessarily a sure thing."

He noted that voters who identify themselves as moderates leaned toward Burke in the latest poll. Meanwhile, Walker has built up support in the western and northern parts of the state, he said.

Burke's strongest support is in the city of Milwaukee. Walker's is in the Milwaukee suburbs.

The poll was the first since Burke came under criticism for taking portions of her jobs plan from Democratic candidates in other states. Burke has cut ties with a consultant who she said recycled parts of the plan from ones he worked on with other campaigns.

Walker has assailed her use of other candidates' economic plans as a sign that she lacks experience to be governor.

But19% of likely voters said news about the copied portions of the plan made them less likely to vote for Burke; 73% said it made no difference.

Burke has staked much of her campaign on Wisconsin's economy, saying it lags behind its Midwest neighbors.

Twenty-four percent of likely voters said the state's rank in job creation — 33rd in the nation — made them less likely to vote for Walker; 66% said it made no difference.

In the first negative shift in five months for the Democrat, Burke had a 36% favorable rating and 37% unfavorable.

Walker had a 47% favorable rating and a 47% unfavorable rating.

In the previous poll, Walker and Burke were tied overall at 46% each among registered voters. Walker led 49% to 46% among likely voters.

Attorney general race

In the race for attorney general, Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel had 41% of likely voters and Jefferson County District Attorney Susan Happ had 39%. Schimel is a Republican and Happ is a Democrat.

Nearly one in five likely voters — 19% — of likely voters were undecided. That's means there is a crucial population of voters that either candidate could persuade.

Among registered voters, Schimel and Happ were tied at 37%, with 22% undecided.

Highlighting how important the undecided voters are in the race, the poll found that about eight in 10 voters say they don't know either candidate.

"It's really stunning how little people have learned about the candidates," Franklin said.

Schimel released his first ad in the race Wednesday, saying it would run statewide. But Happ's campaign said Schimel's ad was slated to be on cable only for the next two weeks. A spot check Wednesday by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel could not find any broadcast stations airing the ad.

On other issues:

■ Registered voters continue to support a voter ID requirement. Sixty-three percent favor it; 33% oppose it.

According to the poll, 75% are aware that identification will be required, 18% wrongly said that identification was not required and 6% said they didn't know if it would be required.

■ There was support for drug testing for people who receive unemployment benefits and food stamps — 56% said people should be tested and 41% opposed it. Walker has proposed implementing such a program; Burke has dismissed it as a political ploy.

■ On the minimum wage, 59% said they favored an increase; 36% said they opposed it. Four percent said they did not know.

The poll of 801 registered voters was conducted from Thursday to Sunday. Interviews came from both landline phones and cellphones. The margin of error for registered voters was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Of the registered voters, 585 identified themselves as likely voters. For that sample, the margin of error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

John Schmid of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report from Cleveland, Wis.