Poll: Majority Support Grothman; Three Senators at Risk of Recall

Although efforts are under way to recall Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend), a recent poll shows that supporters of the state senator outnumber his naysayers.   

The poll by Daily Kos and Public Policy Polling shows that 49 percent of those surveyed approve of Grothman's job performance, while 30 percent disagree and  21 percent were not sure of their opinions of the senator.  The poll has a 2 percent margin of error with more than 2,500 people surveyed.

Grothman looked even safer based on answers to the following poll question: "Generally speaking, if an election was held later this year, would you vote to re-elect Glenn Grothman or vote for his Democratic opponent?" Sixty percent of the respondents favored Grothman. See the full results here.

The senator has not responded to requests for comment.

Grothman has represented the 20th Senate District, which includes most of Ozaukee County as well as portions of Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Washington and Dodge counties, since 2004.  In the 2008 election, he received nearly 80 percent of the vote running against independent candidate Clyde Winter.  Previously, Grothman served in the state assembly from 1993 until 2004.  

Daily Kos is a liberal website that supports the recall of Wisconsin's Republican senators as a way for Democrats to retake control of the Senate.

Recalls of eight Republican senators are driven by backlash over the passage of the budget repair bill last Wednesday, which eliminates most collective bargaining for public employees, by the Republican-controlled Senate and Assembly.

By April 29, 20,061 signatures are required to recall the senator.  Ozaukee County organizers aren’t able to say how many signatures have been gathered, though more locations to sign the petition are opening.

Efforts are under way to recall 14 state senators, including six of Wisconsin's 14 Democratic senators.

The poll looked at the eight Republican senators who are eligible for recall this spring.

The poll asked participants whether they would vote for the incumbent senator in a recall or an unnamed Democratic opponent.

According to so-called "topline" results of the poll, only three incumbent Republicans appear to be in danger of losing a recall election.

The results included:

• Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse), who trails a generic Democrat by 55 percent to 41 percent.
• Sen. Randy Hopper, (R-Fond du Lac), who trails 49 percent to 44 percent.
• Sen. Luther Olsen (R-Ripon), who trails by 49 percent to 47 percent.

In addition to Grothman, four other Republicans have leads over their Democrats opponents if a recall was held today, according to the poll.

• Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay) leads 45 percent to 43 percent.
• Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls) leads 48 percent to 44 percent.
• Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) leads 56 percent to 34 percent.
• Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) leads 52 percent to 44 percent.

Candidates are allowed a year in office before a recall election can be forced, so Gov. Scott Walker and 11 of the 19 State Senate Republicans are safe from any recall attempts.

Daily Kos did not poll regarding the Democratic recalls.