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Russ Feingold has spent 18 years on the fringes of the Senate Democratic Caucus and one very hard year here in his home state, running the opposite of this year’s standard-issue Democratic campaign. But Feingold appears on the brink of going down in a national tide that’s blind to distinction. Infuriatingly to the Wisconsin Democrat, he’s been painted not as a leftist but as, of all things, a Washington insider. He’s been forced to defend a claim to independence that he feels is self-evident – “A guy did his doctorate at Princeton on this,” he says indignantly – against an...

When U.S. Senate candidate Ron Johnson faced off against U.S. Sen.Russ Feingold D-Wis., in a debate last Friday, two tremendously different people emerged. On one hand you have a man who has been in Washington as long as many of us have been alive and who cares deeply about his job. On the other, you have a man who has been working in the private sector his whole life and who cares deeply about the state of Wisconsin. Right now, Wisconsin needs the latter.

Republican challenger Ron Johnson receives over 50% support against incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold in the fourth consecutive survey of Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race. The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Johnson, a wealthy plastics manufacturer, picking up 53% of the vote. Feingold, who has represented the state in the Senate since 1993, draws support from 46%. Only one percent (1%) are undecided at this point.

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Johnson, a wealthy plastics manufacturer, picking up 53% of the vote. Feingold, who has represented the state in the Senate since 1993, draws support from 46%. Only one percent (1%) are undecided at this point.

Original title of story running on wide-circulation daily Mainichi Shimbun today here in Tokyo is: "米中間選挙：大統領支持率低迷で民主苦戦　ミシェル夫人「好感度」頼み" My summary translation follows (of the main points):

A new poll suggests that Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin is fighting for his political life. A CNN/Time/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Wednesday indicates that the three-term Democratic senator trails businessman Ron Johnson, the Republican nominee Senate nominee, 52 to 44 percent among likely voters in Wisconsin. Johnson's eight point lead is up from a five point advantage in mid September.

The Wisconsin senator boasts of his strong support for gun rights even though the NRA gave him failing grades during his last two re-election bids. The increasingly strained efforts by Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold to ingratiate himself with conservative voters don't appear to be having much effect. His GOP challenger Ron Johnson has led in every major published poll since July, and currently has a lead of seven points in the RealClearPolitics average of recent polls. That hasn't stopped Mr. Feingold from trying to reinvent himself as the original Tea Partier. He plugged away again in this week's debate...

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Until last fall, Ron Johnson was just an intensely private guy with a good business and a nice house on Lake Winnebago. He kept a stack of Wall Street Journals next to his bed, folded just right so he wouldn't forget to read columnist Dan Henninger on this or Paul Gigot on that. A trim, silver-haired businessman, he was rich but unknown, even in this, his hometown, despite big donations to Lourdes High School and his thriving plastics company here. Running for office never crossed his mind. Barack Obama changed all that. Until last fall, Wisconsin seemed...

The donor disclosure issue revved up by President Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee last week took center stage at Wisconsin's senatorial debate tonight between Democratic incumbent Senator Russ Feingold and his Republican challenger, Ron Johnson. But instead of the Obama/DNC one-sided attacks at rallies with pre-screened attendees and in advertisements, Senator Feingold's feigned outrage was met with a swift and decisive response.

One of a surprising number of old, well-established politicians being challenged in this year's election by some unknown newcomer is Senator Russ Feingold in Wisconsin. In a recent debate between Senator Feingold and his new challenger, businessman Ron Johnson, the difference between the old pol and new guy on the block stood out. Feingold was clearly smoother and more glib-- and his arguments may have sounded more plausible to those unfamiliar with the facts. But what Ron Johnson said would have resonated better with those who did know the facts. How many people are in which category may determine the...

'I'm 55 years old. I grew up in an America that values hard work, that celebrates success. . . . We're losing America. I'm just one guy from Oshkosh, but I refuse to let America go without a knockdown, drag-out fight." On the fringes of the World Dairy Expo—we are, after all, in Wisconsin—the rookie Republican Senate hopeful hits these last lines of his stump speech without going up a decibel. Ron Johnson keeps his tone soberly plainspoken—aw-shucks, not angry. A gray suit hangs a size too big on his frame. When the silver-haired businessman with no political experience came...

While it’s a bad year to be running as a Democrat in any state, that’s especially true in Wisconsin. Despite winning the state with 56 percent of the vote in 2008, Barack Obama has seen his approval rating in the state plummet nearly 30 points since taking office. Voters opposed Obamacare to begin with, and now a majority wants it repealed. Two-thirds say they are angry about the federal government’s policies. As a result, Badger State Democrats are scrambling to distance themselves from, well, other Democrats. Sen. Russ Feingold, in the fight of his political life against Republican Ron Johnson,...

Here are a few numbers that help explain why Senate Democrat Russ Feingold has trailed in every public poll this fall. They show the political leanings of likely voters in a recent statewide survey by Marist: Liberals: 20% Moderates: 33% Conservatives: 47% In other words, self-identified conservatives in this random sample of likely voters outnumbered moderates by 14 points and liberals by 27 points. What’s striking about these “likely voters” is not just that how conservative they are. It’s how much more conservative they are than the actual Wisconsin electorate of recent years (I’ll have a broader story on this...

The Wisconsin Senate race between incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold and Republican challenger Ron Johnson may be, in part, a referendum on the future of high-speed rail in America. The battle over a proposed high-speed rail line that would connect a scant 70 miles between Wisconsin’s two largest cities and be funded by $810 million in federal stimulus money has become symbolic of the political cage match for one of Wisconsin’s Senate seats this November...the fevered debate over high-speed rail in Wisconsin could well determine the outcome of Wisconsin’s Senate battle, which could in turn determine the fate of high-speed rail...

Russ Feingold D WI is being promoted by Progressive as the Tea Party Candidate! Russ Feingold: Tea Party Candidate By Ruth Conniff, August 10, 2010 Pro-gun, anti-bank, and a staunch defender of civil liberties, Russ Feingold should appeal to the Tea Party crowd. http://www.progressive.org/rc081010.html Feingold is trailing by double digits.

Down in the polls in his bid for a fourth term, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has decided he is going to hit Republican opponent Ron Johnson where it hurts: calling into question his support for Wisconsin’s own Green Bay Packers. In a new 30-second ad, Feingold’s campaign shows images of pro football endzone celebrations, including one where then-Minnesota Vikings’ Randy Moss is dancing and pretending to moon the audience to boos from the crowd.

Sen. Russ Feingold's (D-Wis.) reelection campaign is changing a television ad after a complaint from the NFL. Feingold's ad shows a series of football players celebrating after scores, and then accuses Republican Ron Johnson of engaging in "excessive celebration" because he leads Feingold in polls. Feingold accuses his opponent of siding with special interests, and says the game between them is not done yet. Most of the players in the ad are unrecognizable and do not seem to be from the NFL, but there is one notable exception sure to draw attention in football-mad Wisconsin. The ad clearly uses 2005 footage of then-Minnesota Vikings...

MILWAUKEE – The NFL is flagging Sen. Russ Feingold's latest ad, asking the Democratic incumbent to pull unauthorized footage of Randy Moss pretending to moon the Green Bay crowd in 2004. The TV ad, which the campaign said was released statewide Tuesday, opens with a series of clips of football players dancing in the end zone. A four-second clip shows Moss clearly wearing his Minnesota Vikings uniform. The others featured are not playing in NFL games. "We did not license the footage and have contacted the senator's campaign about removing it," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press in...

In a Tweet to his supporters, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold said Tuesday that he had finished voting in the U.S. Senate in Washington and would join President Barack Obama today in Madison. Here is what Feingold wrote: "@russfeingold Great day to be in Wisconsin! I made it! Finished voting and am proud to join President Obama at my alma mater. Feingold had taken some heat for not being in Madison, though he had said weeks ago that he wouldn't be there because he hasn't missed a vote in the Senate.