Wisconsin Right Now

While recent polls covering the U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin show Democrat incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin with a 7-point lead over Republican challenger Eric Hovde, a project survey released this week by Cook Political Report suggests the race is one of the most competitive in the nation. Compared to its survey in August when Baldwin led by +7, Cook Political Report's most recent numbers show she has a 2-point lead of 49%, compared to Hovde’s 47% support. By contrast, results from a recent Marquette Law School poll indicated Baldwin holds a substantial lead over her opponent, with 53% of both registered and likely voters choosing her versus 46% choosing Hovde in a head-to-head matchup. Baldwin’s lead slightly narrowed to 5 points when respondents were allowed to choose undecided; 10% of registered voters reported they are undecided, while 48% went for Baldwin and 43% for Hovde. The poll, conducted Sept. 18-26, interviewed 882 registered voters and 798 likely voters in Wisc...

While some crimes diminished in the unusual, COVID-shutdown year, homicides rose nearly 30% and aggravated assaults rose more than 12% in one year, the first time in four years that violent crime increased from the previous year. (The Center Square) – The Federal Bureau of Investigation released crime data Monday showing a sharp spike in homicides in 2020. “In 2020, there were an estimated 1,277,696 violent crimes,” the FBI said. “When compared with the estimates from 2019, the estimated number of robbery offenses fell 9.3 percent and the estimated volume of rape (revised definition) offenses decreased 12.0 percent. The estimated number of aggravated assault offenses rose 12.1 percent, and the volume of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses increased 29.4 percent.” There were about 21,500 murders reported in 2020, the highest figure in decades. “The 2020 statistics show the estimated rate of violent crime was 387.8 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the estimated ra...