Thompson leads Baldwin by 9 points in new poll

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) leads Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) by 9 points, according to a new poll from Marquette University.

Thompson, who won his primary a week ago, leads Baldwin 50 to 41 percent, running ahead of Mitt Romney, who narrowly trails President Obama 49 to 46 percent in the poll.

The former governor is well-known in the state and the poll shows he has little problem with his base despite winning just over a third of the primary vote: 62 percent of Republicans have a favorable view of him with just 14 percent viewing him unfavorably and 94 percent saying they'll vote for him in the fall. He also holds a 9-point lead with independents in the state.

Baldwin, who the poll shows is not as well-known, is winning 85 percent of the Democratic vote, but 11 percent of Democrats say they'll vote for Thompson — a high number in the polarized state.

The poll of 576 likely voters was conducted from Aug. 16-19 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.