Democrat Tammy Baldwin loses ground in Wisconsin Senate race: Polls

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin is losing ground against Republican challenger Eric Hovde, in a few consecutive polls of her Wisconsin Senate race. 

Likely Wisconsin voters still favor Baldwin over Hovde in three polls that were released recently, but her lead in a Marist poll on Thursday found she was only three points ahead of Hovde, 51-48%, according to Fox News. A Quinnipiac poll also showed her leading with 51% of the vote to Hovde's 47%, and an AARP survey showed Baldwin leading 50% to 47%.

The new findings are closer than Hovde's numbers in March, where a Quinnipiac poll found Hovde trailing Baldwin with 42% to her 54%. But he fared better in a New York Times/ Siena College poll in August where support for Hovde grew to 44% compared to Baldwin's 51%.

The polls come less than seven weeks before election day, which falls on Nov. 5 this year. Wisconsin is considered a battleground state, but the Senate race is labeled as "lean Democrat" by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. 

"Wisconsin is often a pivotal state in the Electoral College count," Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, said in a statement. "2024 is no exception and is shaping up to be a tight contest."

Vice President Kamala Harris is still leading in the Marist poll with 50% of the vote, but former President Donald Trump is just one point behind.

The Quinnipiac poll was conducted between Sept. 12-16, and surveyed 1,075 likely Wisconsin voters. It had a three point margin of error. The Marist poll questioned 1,431 likely voters in Wisconsin from Sept. 12 through Sept. 17, and had a 3.6% margin of error. The AARP survey polled 1,052 likely voters from Sept. 11-14 with a 4.0% margin of error.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.