Raising the minimum wage not only has strong support in several states with tight races for Senate or governor this November, but voters tell Public Policy Polling that they are likely to hold candidates’ opposition to raising the minimum wage against them. Voters in Illinois, North Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour by margins ranging from 14 points in Wisconsin to 28 points in Illinois. But this is what should have Republicans in a few key states really nervous:
In Illinois, self-proclaimed .01-percenter Bruce Rauner is the Republican candidate for governor. Rauner has long said he’d be fine with a lower minimum wage or even no minimum wage at all, though since he’s realized that’s bad politics, he’s started pretending he might support a higher minimum wage if there were enough poison pills involved. In Iowa, Republican Senate nominee Joni Ernst opposes a federal minimum wage and says that $7.25 an hour is plenty for Iowa, because the state has a low cost of living (just 18 percent of Iowa voters think they could support a family on the minimum wage). And in Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s administration has said that $7.25 is a living wage (just 14 percent of Wisconsin voters agree) and Walker has said he doesn’t think the minimum wage serves a purpose.
These Republicans have something to worry about if voters are informed about where they stand on the minimum wage, in other words.
Voting by mail is convenient, easy, and defeats the best of the GOP’s voter suppression efforts. Sign up here to check eligibility and vote by mail, then get your friends, family, and coworkers to sign up as well.
As Mark Sumner says, this is a really simple election: If you want a higher minimum wage, you should support Democrats. If you want a lower minimum wage, support Republicans.
