Frederica Freyberg:

Until we’re faced with a blue jean candidate on the ballot we’re left to choose among the Dems, Republicans and third parties on the ticket. Do you know anybody who hasn’t already made up their mind in the race for governor? Do you know an undecided voter? They’re hard to come by. So we sent “Here and Now” reporter Joe Astrouski on the road in search of one.

Joe Astrouski:

For months now, incumbent Governor Scott Walker and challenger Mary Burke have been making their cases to Wisconsin voters. But researchers have found that even before the campaign many of those voters had already made their decisions. Charles Franklin directs the Marquette University Law School poll.

Charles Franklin:

An awful lot of voters have made up their mind either for or against Governor Walker. Partisanship has come to play a bigger role in a lot of people’s voting decisions. So as a result, the sort of period of deliberation, trying to decide who am I going to vote for has maybe narrowed quite a bit as more and more people come into an election saying, I’m just going with my party, or I already know whether I like this incumbent or dislike this incumbent.

Joe Astrouski:

Still, the most recent Marquette poll found that about 4% of likely voters remain undecided.

Charles Franklin:

For a lot of people politics is peripheral to their daily interest. It’s not what they live and breathe for, it’s not the most important thing in their daily lives. So for voters like that, politics has to become important for them to pay attention. There have to be issues that they care about. There have to be candidates that they find interesting or attractive.

Joe Astrouski:

All that got us to wondering who are these undecided voters? What issues do they care about? And frankly what are they waiting for? So we’re hitting, the road taking off across the state to find out.

Dr. Franklin told us that to improve our odds of finding undecided voters, we needed to stay away from Milwaukee, the Milwaukee suburbs and Madison. So instead we started in Green Bay. Right off the bat, we stumbled upon a group of women enjoying the sunshine outside their senior apartment complex. They told us they’ve already picked their candidates, but they also wanted us to know what issues are on their minds. In particular, health care and economic opportunity.

Woman:

So when you go to the doctor a lot, you know, and the doctors are having a hard time, too, with the insurances and with the jobs I see with my kids. I just had a child move back to Kentucky, back to Wisconsin.

Joe Astrouski:

Plenty of opinions, but no undecided voters. So we hit the streets. It seemed everyone we met had made up their minds too.

Woman II:

I always vote and I know who I’m going to vote for.

Joe Astrouski:

Soon our luck began to improve and we found a few voters who still weren’t sure.

Young Woman:

Everyone around me has opinions, but I’m not– I’m not swayed to opinions of other people. I need to find out my own research.

Man:

I haven’t done a lot of research on the candidates or the platforms.

Joe Astrouski:

These were the undecided voters we’d been looking for. So we asked what issues would shape their decisions?

Young Woman:

I don’t know. Things that line up with my morals. I don’t know exact examples off the top of my head.

Man:

Certainly hot button has been the issue of homelessness in Green Bay, especially in the downtown district. Certainly, I would look for a candidate or candidates that would be part of a solution, a viable and workable solution to help people that might be economically challenged, to help them get back on their feet.

Joe Astrouski:

It’s day two and we’ve headed south to Appleton and I think we found the perfect spot right between the bus terminal and the public library. So if the rain holds off, I think we’ll be able to find a few more undecided voters. Almost immediately we ran into Bridget on her way to work at a grocery store.

Bridget:

I’m still undecided because of the way that the economy’s gone. Jobs aren’t there for people, you know, that they should have. I’m not happy with the rate of pay that they have for hourly employees, you know. I don’t know what the future is going to lie ahead. Nobody knows. But I’m still undecided.

Joe Astrouski:

Meanwhile, some of our colleagues working elsewhere in the Fox Cities came across another undecided voter, a long-time Republican, who told them he’s concerned about health care, state finances and the justice system.

Jerry Lang:

I think we have some spending issues in various– You know, I’m more of a believer in community corrections and our prison system has blossomed over the last 15 or 20 years. I’ve read that we actually incarcerate more people than Michigan or Illinois or Minnesota. Well, why is that? It’s very expensive to do that. Is that the best form of rehabilitation?

Joe Astrouski:

One more question from one more voter with one less day to make up his mind.