Wisconsin polls show close races for both parties

MADISON, Wis., March 30 (UPI) -- New polling in Wisconsin shows fluidity in both the Democratic and Republican races ahead of the state's presidential primary on Tuesday.

A poll by Marquette University Law School shows two underdogs, Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Bernie Sanders, posting leads in the state that are larger than any previous poll has indicated.

Cruz leads GOP front-runner Donald Trump by 10 percentage points in the Marquette survey, 40 percent to 30 percent, though other polls conducted recently have made it a much closer race. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is pegged at 21 percent in the Marquette survey.

The timing of the poll is worth noting, as well. It was conducted prior to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's endorsement of Cruz, though for voters closely following the race, Tuesday's announcement came as little surprise. Walker had hinted for several weeks he was leaning toward supporting Cruz over Trump.

On the Democratic side, the race tilts toward Sanders, though still within the poll's margin of error. Sanders leads front-runner Hillary Clinton, 49 percent to 45 percent.

The Real Clear Politics polling average in Wisconsin puts both races closer than that.

There has been more polling conducted on the Republican race, but the average, including the 10-point margin, shows Cruz up by about 3 percentage points.

There have been just two polls conducted on the Democratic side. The Marquette survey gave the nod to Sanders, while an Emerson poll conducted eight days ago showed Clinton holding a modest lead of 6 percentage points, slightly outside the survey's margin of error.