By Courier Staff
Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson
With less than a month to go before the primary for the special election for Milwaukee Mayor, a new poll released this week shows Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson in a strong position to advance to the general election in April.
Johnson is currently leading all other candidates in the February primary election according to the poll.
According to the poll, Johnson received the strongest support in the February primary, with 25% of voters choosing him as their preferred candidate for mayor; 18% of voters say they plan to vote for Sen. Lena Taylor; 14% say they plan to vote for former Ald. Bob Donovan; 9% intend to vote for Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic; and 7% say they plan to vote for Sherrif Earnell Lucas. The poll noted that 25% of Milwaukee voters remain undecided.
The poll shows that Johnson is the most popular candidate for mayor. Despite being sworn in as mayor one month ago, Johnson leads the major candidates for mayor in favorability, with 44% of Milwaukee voters viewing him favorably and just 12% viewing him unfavorably.
Some of Johnson’s primary opponents are slightly better known, yet none are viewed more favorably among likely Milwaukee primary voters.
Taylor is viewed favorably by 39% of voters and unfavorably by 31%; Donovan is viewed favorably by 32% and unfavorably by 36% of voters; Lucas is viewed favorably by 30% of voters and unfavorably by 11%; and Dimitrijevic is viewed favorably by 28% of voters and unfavorably by 17%.
Johnson showed broad appeal across the Milwaukee electorate according to the poll. Johnson is the top choice among Milwaukee women at 28% and men at 20%, as well as voters over 55 (27%) and under 55 (21%).
The poll was a survey of 500 likely 2022 Primary Election voters in Milwaukee taken between Jan. 5 and Jan. 10, 2022. The survey had a margin of error of +/- 4.4%.