Wisconsin Right Now

Newly released polling data on former President Donald Trump’s increased margins with Black and Hispanic voters mark a seismic shift in the electorate with just two weeks until Election Day. A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released Monday found that nationally, Harris leads Trump by 1 point, well within the margin of error at 46% to 45%. However, Trump significantly leads Harris with Hispanic voters and has made unprecedented gains among Black voters The poll, which surveyed 1,000 likely voters between Oct. 14-18, shows that Trump leads Harris with Hispanics, 49% to 38%. Harris also has 72% support among Black voters, which is much higher than Trump’s 17% support but much lower than other recent Democrats. Previous Democrats like former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden received between 90-95% of Black voters’ support. Black voters hold particular sway in the urban ares of key swing states like Pittsburgh, Phila...

  Newly released federal inflation data shows that prices rose faster than expected last month, putting more pressure on Americans’ budgets. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday released its Consumer Price Index, a key marker of inflation, which showed that CPI rose 0.2% in September. While inflation rose more than expected last month, the year-over-year inflation of 2.4% in this latest data is much lower than the major spike in inflation in recent years. The data comes after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced an interest rate cut last month, a sign that the Fed believes inflation is under control enough to lower rates, and thereby boost the economy. “Disinflation continues, but anyone who thought the Fed was going to lower rates by another .50 basis points in November is dead wrong,” Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group in Richmond, said in a statement. “When interest rates aren’t high enough to lower growth, they aren’t high enough to stifle in...

  Newly released polling data shows President Joe Biden's approval rating has hit a new low on the eve of 2024, when the president will seek a second term in the White House. Monmouth University on Monday released the poll, which show's Biden's approval rating has dropped to 34% approval, the lowest rating Monmouth has collected since Biden became president. The same poll shows Biden has 61% disapproval rating, the highest since Biden took office. In particular, voters have a problem with the president's handling of five key issues. "Specifically, just over 2 in 3 disapprove of the president's performance on immigration (69%) and inflation (68%), while more than half feel the same about the way he has handled climate change (54%), jobs and unemployment (53%), and transportation and energy infrastructure (52%)," Monmouth University said. Other polling shows that inflation in particular, along with jobs and the economy, are the top concerns fo...

  Newly released federal inflation data shows consumer prices rose significantly in September, further undoing a trend of slowing inflation that had begun earlier this year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday released its Consumer Price Index, a key marker of inflation that tracks the cost of a range of consumer goods and services. That index rose 0.4% in September alone, a notable increase that is higher than months earlier this year. "The index for shelter was the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase, accounting for over half of the increase," BLS said. "An increase in the gasoline index was also a major contributor to the all items monthly rise. While the major energy component indexes were mixed in September, the energy index rose 1.5 percent over the month." Food prices rose as well. "The food index increased 0.2 percent in September, as it did in the previous two months," BLS said. "The index for food a...

“Biden's current 41% approval rating puts him in the lower tier of all prior presidents' job approval ratings taken just before past midterm elections” Newly released polling data shows that several key markers don't look good for Democrats, even as the Biden administration works overtime to rebuff criticism over soaring inflation and record-high gas prices. Gallup released its survey  data Tuesday which reported that “the current Democratic congressional majority is facing an extremely unfavorable election environment.” The party of the incumbent president traditionally loses seats in Congress during the midterm elections, as former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump experienced. That momentum, combined with President Joe Biden’s low approval rating and several other data markers, “predict a greater-than-average loss of seats for the Democratic Party this fall,” according to Gallup. “Gallup's latest data, from a May 2-22 survey, finds 41% of Americans...

“If you don’t feel safe in your home, you don’t want to stay here, and you’re not going to want to raise your family here, and work here, and retire here,” -Samantha Kerkman Kenosha County’s newly elected county executive says connecting with people – and connecting with their biggest worry – helped sweep her into office. Samantha Kerkman spoke with News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber Friday morning. She credited her victory, the first for a Republican in Kenosha County, to a grassroots campaign and listening to voters who said they want to feel safe. “It’s been two years, and it’s been really difficult dealing with COVID and then we had the riots and civil unrest down here. People have been through so much,” Kerkman explained. “The issue of public safety resonated with everybody. It didn’t matter if you were on the east side of the county or the west side of the county, public safety hands down was that key issue.” Her comments can be heard on Weber's podcast, listen here. ...

The poll found 61% disapproved of Biden’s work on crime, 62% disapproved on the economy, 63% disapproved on immigration and 70% disapproved on inflation. Newly released polling data shows President Joe Biden’s poll numbers remain low ahead of Tuesday night's state of the union address. Gallup released data Tuesday that showed nearly the lowest satisfaction rates for Americans since Biden took office in January 2021. Biden's Performance “When thinking about the state of the nation, just 21% of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going, and 78% are dissatisfied,” Gallup said. “This reading, from a Feb. 1-17 Gallup poll, is slightly improved from the 17% recorded in January, but still among the lowest since President Joe Biden took office.” Biden is expected to tackle a range of issues during Tuesday night's speech, with the struggling economy and the invasion of Ukraine likely topping the list. CBS News released polling Tuesday that put Bide...

  Newly uncovered federal grant documents show that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded roughly $2.5 million in taxpayer dollars to a Florida-based education program that trains education future teachers in, among other things, critical race theory . The funding came through two grants, one in 2017 and another in 2021 . Both grants went to faculty at Florida State University, which has partnered with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Grant documents from the federal Institute for Education Sciences database show that the DOE awarded $1,020,800 in the first grant and $1,498,620 in the second grant. The program offers participants 1-year fellowships. PURPOSE The program in question is called Partners United for Research Pathways Oriented to Social Justice in Education (PURPOSE). “The PURPOSE training program's P–20 theme focuses on researching social justice issues within educational contexts,” the grant says. “Throughout the year fellows will parti...