President Trump gives a thumbs up at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Ariz., August 22, 2017. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

A new Marquette University Law School poll shows Donald Trump with the highest job-approval rating among Wisconsin voters since his presidency began: 48 percent of voters in the state approve of his job performance, while 49 percent disapprove.

Marquette’s pollster Charles Franklin tells National Review in an email that Trump’s net approval rating of -1 is a couple points better than his previous best net-approval rating of -3, which he achieved in two previous Marquette polls (one conducted just before the 2018 elections and another in December 2019). In 2016, Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin 47.2 percent to 46.5 percent.


The new Marquette survey shows that Joe Biden would be the strongest Democrat to face Trump in a general election match-up: Biden leads Trump 49 percent to 45 percent, while Bernie Sanders leads Trump by one point (47 percent to 46 percent), Elizabeth Warren trails Trump by three points (45 percent to 48 percent), and Pete Buttigieg trails Trump by two points (44 percent to 46 percent).

What explains Trump’s job-approval rating ticking upward in Wisconsin?

The latest survey was conducted January 8 through 12, following the killing of Iranian Quds Force general Qasem Soleimani, but the Marquette poll showed that only 44 percent of Wisconsin voters agreed with the statement “It’s about time that the U.S. struck back against Iran,” while 51 percent disagreed.


Asked about the upcoming Senate impeachment trial, 44 percent of Wisconsin voters “say the Senate should convict Trump and remove him from office, while 49 percent say the Senate should acquit him of the charges. Six percent say they don’t know.”


Positive economic news may be the best explanation for Trump’s improved standing in Wisconsin: While 44 percent of the state’s voters say the economy has gotten better in the last year, only 21 percent say it’s gotten worse.