WisBusiness.com: Poll finds Favre favorability plummets in Wisconsin

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Jeff Mayers
President
WisBusiness.com
608-212-9422

MADISON, Wis. — Brett Favre may be having another memorable season — this time with the New York Jets — but since he’s shed the green-and-gold jersey, No. 4’s popularity has plummeted in Wisconsin, a new WisBusiness.com poll says.

Last December, scientific polling showed Favre with a 73 percent favorable rating — far ahead of any state politician.

But a poll earlier this month using the same methodology showed his favorable rating had dived to 48 percent.

The telephone poll of 600 state residents was conducted Nov. 9-10, 2008 for WisBusiness.com by Diversified Research. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The poll was done before the Jets’ upset win over the previously undefeated Tennessee Titans and before the Green Bay Packers’ bruising loss Monday night in New Orleans. It showed a 48 percent favorable-24 percent unfavorable ratio for Favre.

A Dec. 2-3, 2007 poll found Favre, in the midst of a season in which he set NFL records and led the Packers to the NFC championship game against the New York Giants, with a 73 percent favorable rating. Favre’s unfavorable rating was just 7 percent, according to the poll.

But since then the Packers and Favre had a very public and bitter split and Aaron Rodgers has taken over the helm at quarterback. The Jets are now sitting atop the AFC East with an 8-3 record while the Packers are in third place in the NFC North with a record of 5-6.

See the 2008 question and results below.

QUESTION: Now I’d like to get your feelings about some public officials who have been in the news. I’ll read the name of a person and I’d like you to tell me if you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of him or her. If we come to a person whose name you don’t recognize, you don’t need to rate that person. Just tell me and we’ll move on to the next one.

“Brett Favre” (600 total responses)

Favorable 47.8% (287 responses)
Unfavorable 24.0% (144)
No opinion 20.6% (124)
Never heard of 7.5% (45)