Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

According to the poll, which surveyed 800 likely voters, almost 60% of Wisconsin voters now disapprove of Gov. Walker’s performance, with almost half saying they “strongly disapprove.”

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Walker won election in November with 52% of the vote over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a Democrat. During the campaign, Rasmussen polls were regularly criticized by Wisconsin Democrats as being skewed in favor of GOP candidates.

On Thursday, Walker said that he didn't govern by polls. He said that he had overcome difficult political odds before such as when as a GOP state lawmaker he had won a special election to become executive of Milwaukee County, a Democratic stronghold.

"If I were concerned about polls, I would still be in the state Assembly," Walker said.

The poll also indicated that the state’s citizens hold Wisconsin teachers in high regard. Public school teachers made up a sizable amount of protestors who converged on the capitol last month, enough to close Madison public schools for two days. 

Rick Ungar of Forbes writes:

It turns out that the state’s public school teachers are very popular with their fellow Badgers. With 77% of those polled holding a high opinion of their educators, it is not particularly surprising that only 32% among households with children in the public school system approve of the governor’s performance. Sixty-seven percent (67%) disapprove, including 54% who strongly disapprove.

Can anyone imagine a politician succeeding with numbers like this among people who have kids?

These numbers should be of great concern not only to Governor Walker but to governors everywhere who were planning to follow down the path of war with state employee unions. You can’t take on the state worker unions without taking on the teachers – and the teachers are more popular than Gov. Walker and his cohorts appear to realize.