Russ Feingold Leading Ron Johnson In New Wisconsin Senate Poll

A new Marquette University poll suggests that former Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold would be in a very good position to win his seat back if he chose to run against Republican Senator Ron Johnson:

The Marquette University Law School poll released Thursday found that 54 percent of registered voters say they would support Feingold in a 2016 matchup, while 38 percent said they would support Johnson.

Another 9 percent said they weren’t sure who they would support.

Both Republicans and Democrats have suggested that if Feingold were to run against Johnson in 2016, he would pose a strong challenge. Johnson defeated Feingold in 2010. Recently Feingold stepped down at the State Department and people close to him have told TPM he’s gearing up for a rematch.

Since losing in 2010, Feingold has balked at other opportunities to return to politics, including some suggestion by Democrats that he should have run against Governor Scott Walker, either in the 2012 recall election or in 2014. This time around, though, all the signals seems to indicate that the former Senator is seriously looking at seeking a rematch against Johnson and, if he chose to run, one presumes that the Democratic field would be clear for him and that he wouldn’t have much of a primary fight, if any at all. As for Johnson, as I’ve noted before he is one of the incumbent Republicans running in 2016 who is deemed to be vulnerable, especially given the fact that he will be running in a Presidential Election year in a state that has gone for the Democratic nominee for President in every election since 1988. With Walker set to enter the race for the GOP nomination as one of the favorites, this would seem to guarantee that Wisconsin will once again be a central focus when 2016 rolls around.

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Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Ben says:

    I’ll always consider Feingold an unheralded hero. He was the only senator to have the balls and backbone to vote against the Patriot Act, and he voted against every reauthorization, he voted against the Iraq war, he voted against every FISA reauth, he voted to hold the CIA accountable for their torture programs. One of the few good ones.

  2. Rob Prather says:

    @Ben: Basically everything Ben said. One of the good ones who had far more foresight than I did.

  3. Nikki says:

    Job approval for Republicans is dropping like flies all over the country. Perhaps people have finally grown weary of Republican governance?

  4. motopilot says:

    When I think of Russ Feingold, I think of a person who dignifies the position of U.S. Senator. I am really hard pressed to think of many others that are of his caliber in the current Senate, especially with an (R) after their title. Sheldon Whitehouse, I guess. I’ll let you fill in such a list. Anyway, I hope he has the stomach to take on the crazy again. For all of us.

  5. DrDaveT says:

    @Ben:

    He was the only senator to have the balls and backbone to vote against the Patriot Act

    That’s enough right there to make him the Great Statesman of Our Time. Long after the Iraq War has receded to Vietnam status in our collective memory, the Patriot Act will still be hurting America on a daily basis.

  6. al-Ameda says:

    @Nikki:

    Job approval for Republicans is dropping like flies all over the country. Perhaps people have finally grown weary of Republican governance?

    I wish I could believe that. The voters have give the GOP control of the House and the Senate, and could very well give these malevolent people the White House too.

  7. Dave D says:

    Crazy that the guy who campaigned on not even being able to find Washington on a map to prove he wasn’t an insider and who answered every policy question with I don’t know I’m not a Washington insider is a spectacular failure at he job governing. Perhaps the citizens of my beloved birthplace are finally wising up. Johnson is one of the dumbest politicians I have ever heard speak and even my tea party lovin’ dad thinks he’s an idiot. That said if he was primaried by anyone with half a brain it would probably be a closer race.