This article was published by American Greatness: https://amgreatness.com/2025/02/18/poll-heartland-voters-embrace-trumps-early-actions/
On a wide range of issues, voters in the consummate battleground state of Wisconsin report wide approval of Trump’s aggressive policy agenda, just weeks into his presidency.
This America First support stands in stark contrast to the continued heartland rejection of Democratic policies generally, and Biden specifically.
On overall job approval, independent voters give Trump very strong marks, with 53% approving and 35% disapproving. Looking at the overall voter universe, Wisconsin voters approve of Trump by a +3% margin, 48-45%. Those numbers represent big improvements over Trump’s pre-election margins in the Badger State.
That Wisconsin pro-Trump bump finds validation in the national surveys as well, with Trump hitting personal all-time highs in the RealClear Politics averages for both favorability and job approval. By contrast, Joe Biden leaves office with dismal ratings that tanked into the last months of his White House tenure. Wisconsin voters give him a -15% approval rating, underwater 40-55%. Among younger voters aged 35—60, Biden is underwater -25%, with only 35% approval and a whopping 60% disapprove.
This survey can be found here, and questioned over 1000 registered voters in Wisconsin, reaching a sample universe that split Trump 50% vs. Kamala Harris 49% in their ballot choice for last November, right in line with actual vote results. The survey was conducted by TIPP Insights for my populist right advocacy firm, the League of American Workers.
Wisconsin stands as a particularly useful state to poll, because it was the tightest of the swing states, with Trump prevailing by just 29,000 votes out of over 3.3 million cast there. That razor-thin margin has become the historic norm for Wisconsin, with the last 3 presidential elections there being decided by fewer than 30,000 votes.
Digging into the poll crosstabs, here are the three most important policy issues where Trump earns widespread heartland support:
Immigration – by a wide +23% margin, Wisconsin voters support mass deportation, 59-36%. Very notably, Hispanic citizens also support this crackdown on illegal immigration, and by a nearly identical margin – 59-38% – approve of Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda. Segmenting the poll into income groups, the strongest support for deportations is found among workers with modest incomes, under $50,000 annually.
DOGE – despite the howls of permanent Washington and constant anti-DOGE propaganda from the biased legacy media, voters strongly back the aggressive reforms of the Department of Government Efficiency. Overall approval for DOGE is 57-35% in Wisconsin, and an even better 63-28% among young voters aged 25-44 years old. Incredibly, even 27% of Kamala Harris voters back the efforts of Elon Musk and his team.
Economy – like voters all over America, Wisconsinites report widespread anxiety about the material financial harms inflicted upon them by Joe Biden, but also concurrently embrace a cautious newfound optimism about the future under Donald Trump and JD Vance. When asked about Bidenomics, a staggering 60% said it “hurt their family” and only 29% said it “helped.” But now, by a +3% margin, voters say they are more confident about the economy since the election. Among the youngest voters, age 18-24 years old, economic confidence vaults higher since Trump’s win, by a wide 56-29% spread.
In addition to those national issues, Wisconsin voters will decide an incredibly competitive state supreme court race on April 1, one that has profound national implications. Right now, conservative candidate (the race is officially non-partisan) Brad Schimel leads liberal candidate Susan Crawford 45-43% among voters likely to cast a ballot on April 1. Reflecting national trends, Schimel does very well among minorities, with a commanding +9% lead among registered black and Hispanic voters.
In the recent past, Susan Crawford has called voter identification rules “draconian.” The sensible citizens of Wisconsin firmly disagree. This poll shows overwhelming support for voter ID requirements, 87-9%.
Since a voter ID referendum is also on the ballot for April 1, and many Democrat activists look for the Supreme Court to invalidate any voter ID requirements, this issue could matter materially not just for Wisconsin, but for the whole country, given its national importance. In addition, Democratic activists in Wisconsin, backed by out-of-state billionaire Reid Hoffman, have made it crystal clear that they believe electing Crawford to the court can result in The Democrats picking up “two additional US House seats.”
The logical inference there is that an activist, partisan Wisconsin supreme court could redraw contested districts, just as that court already did for the state legislature. As such, with a razor-thin GOP majority in the US House, such radical overreach in Wisconsin from liberal justices could prove decisive for control of the House in Washington.
So, this survey should serve to embolden President Trump and his supporters to continue with his aggressive reform agenda. The heartland loves it, even if the Beltway Brahmins do not. It should also motivate patriots in Wisconsin, and across America, to take strong action in the key April 1 election there.
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Steve Cortes was former senior advisor to President Trump and JD Vance, former commentator for Fox News and CNN, and president of the League of American Workers, a populist right pro-laborer advocacy group.
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