Jewish Incumbent Race Profile: Senator Russ Feingold

Linda Berg — June 4, 2010 – 9:57 am | Election 2010 Comments (0) Add a comment

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold is running for his fourth term. Prior to his election to the Senate, Feingold was a three term State Senator. Feingold prides himself on his independence and bipartisanship. He was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his co-sponsorship of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, better known as the McCain Feingold Act, which rewrote campaign finance law.

 

Feingold describes himself as a Wisconsin Progressive who fights for families, economic justice and fiscal responsibility. He is a member of the Senate Judiciary committee, which will hold hearings on Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court. He is also a member of the Intelligence Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee, and Chairman of the Africa Subcommittee.

 

A supporter of the two-state solution in Israel, Feingold has said, “I stand firmly with the people of Israel and their government.”

 

According to George Will, Feingold’s Republican opponent Ron Johnson “is what the Tea Party looks like.” Johnson, a wealthy small businessman, says he was inspired by what he called the “jaw dropping” events in the Obama presidency including TARP, the stimulus, Government Motors, the mistreatment of Chrysler’s creditors, and “Obamacare.”  Johnson said he entered the race when “I was sitting at home watching FOX News when Dick Morris came on and said ‘Feingold is vulnerable. If you’re a rich guy from Wisconsin, step up to the plate.’ I kind of looked at (my wife) Jane and said ‘is he talking to me?’” Johnson opposes women’s reproductive rights and says his goal is to repeal the healthcare reform legislation.

 

In a surprising development, Rasmussen just released a poll stating that Johnson, who enteredthe race two weeks ago and has never held public office, is running essentially even with Feingold. The telephone survey of likely voters in Wisconsin shows Feingold with 46 percent support to Johnson’s 44 percent. Three percent prefer some other candidate, and six percent remain undecided. There has been a lot of criticism of Rasmussen’s methodology but clearly this race warrants watching, particularly since Russ Feingold’s is known for his dedication to campaign finance reform and limiting the impact of money in politics. Ron Johnson is a multimillionaire who when asked about how much his wealth he will spend on this race replied simply “all of it.”  

 

 

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