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Johnson, Feingold Capitalize on Negatives of Presidential Party Nominees

    

The fall elections are less than two months away, and the Wisconsin race for U.S. Senate appears to be tightening. Incumbent Ron Johnson is trying to secure a second term against Democratic challenger Russ Feingold, in a rematch from 2010.

This time around, each candidate has been trying to link the other to his party’s presidential nominee. The reason – both candidates at the top have low favorability numbers.

One of Incumbent Ron Johnson’s main issues in the campaign for U. S. Senate is national security. He’s been highlighting his role as chair of the Senate Homeland Security committee – but also drawing correlations between his opponent - and Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton.

“I’m running against Russ Feingold, a man who even after 9-11 was the only senator to vote against giving law enforcement the tools they need to help stop international terror. During his 18 year senate career, he also voted against authorizing our military eleven separate times. Now, he’s asking Wisconsinites to give him a fourth term, just like Hillary Clinton is asking America to give her Obama’s third term,” Johnson says.

Conservative special interests also are tying Senate candidate Feingold to Clinton. For instance, the Koch brothers’ political arm, Americans for Prosperity, recently sent out a mass mailing likening the campaign to the movie “Groundhog Day.” The ad reads “30 Years in Politics. Nothing New. Russ Feingold and Hillary Clinton.”

At the same time, Feingold is trying to equate Johnson with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. At a recent stop in Milwaukee, Feingold called the duo, dangerous.

“Donald Trump and Sen. Johnson have made it clear what they stand for, and it’s not very pretty. In fact, it’s downright scary. If they’re elected, we won’t be talking about raising the minimum wage, we won’ be talking about equal pay for women, we won’t be talking about making college more affordable for our families,” Feingold says.

Feingold says it doesn’t bother him if opponents tie him to Clinton, even though quite a few voters have a poor impression of her.

“I’m concerned only about electing a president and vice president who can govern this country and send the right message to the rest of the world,” Feingold says.

On the Republican side, Johnson hasn’t said whether he worries about Donald Trump’s low favorability numbers impacting the incumbent’s chances of re-election.

“I’m not a political pundit, I can’t predict that. I can concentrate on my own race. I’m focusing on the citizens of Wisconsin and what I can do to promote policies to provide the economic growth, to provide the opportunities we’re looking for,” Johnson says.

The race seems to be following the opposite course of what traditionally happens, according to Marquette University political science professor Julia Azari. She says she can’t recall another presidential election, in which both candidates had such low numbers.

“Typically when we talk about coattails, we talk about positive coattails, about presidential candidates who come in and are popular, and inspire hope and enthusiasm on their respective sides, whether it’s Obama or George W. Bush,” Azari says.

But, Azari says if Johnson loses his Senate seat, she doesn’t think the primary reason would be Trump’s negatives. More likely, a loss would be tied to Wisconsin’s presidential history. In presidential years, Democrats typically carry the state – at least since Ronald Reagan’s days. Johnson ousted Feingold in 2010 – when the tea party rode in, mid-way through President Obama’s first term.

Marti was a reporter with WUWM from 1999 to 2021.
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