A new Marquette Law School Poll survey of Democratic primary voters finds state Rep. Francesca Hong leading with 38%, followed by former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes with 16% and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley at 7%. Former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan is supported by 2%, and State Sen. Kelda Roys is also the choice of 2%. In the previous Marquette Law School Poll survey conducted July 8-16, Hong had 26% and Barnes had 15%. Crowley was not a candidate at the time of the earlier poll, while Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who subsequently suspended her campaign, had 11%.

When those who lean to a candidate are combined with first choices, Hong’s support expands to 46%, ahead of Barnes at 21%, Crowley at 11%, Brennan at 4%, and Roys at 4%. Fourteen percent are undecided and not leaning to any candidate.

The poll was conducted July 22-27, 2026, with 407 registered voters who say they will vote in the Democratic primary, including early absentee voters, with a margin of error of +/-6.6 percentage points. The sample includes 254 respondents who were also previously interviewed July 8-16 and 153 new respondents. Interviews were attempted with all Democratic primary respondents from the July 8-16 poll, with a 59% success (reinterview) rate, as well as an additional fresh sample.

The survey was conducted with a hybrid sample of 176 respondents selected from the Wisconsin voter registration list, and 231 registered voters selected from the SSRS Opinion Panel, a sample drawn from postal addresses across the state and invited to take part in surveys online. Full details of the methodology are contained in the methodology statement at the link below.

The entire questionnaire, methodology statement, full results and breakdowns by demographic groups are available on the Marquette Law Poll website.