2010 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

The 2010 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Russ Feingold ran for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican challenger Ron Johnson, a businessman and first-time candidate.[1] Johnson was the first Republican to win a Senate election in Wisconsin since 1986. Feingold also became the 5th Senator in a row from Wisconsin's Class 3 senate seat to be defeated for reelection.

2010 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

November 2, 2010

Nominee Ron Johnson Russ Feingold Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,125,932 1,020,841 Percentage 51.9% 47.0%

County results Johnson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Feingold:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Russ Feingold Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ron Johnson Republican

Republican primary

Candidates

On the ballot

• Stephen Finn, plumber[1]
• Ron Johnson, businessman[2]
• Dave Westlake, businessman[3]

Declined

• Ted Kanavas, state senator[2]
• Dick Leinenkugel (dropped out), former State Commerce Secretary[4]
• Tommy Thompson, former governor of Wisconsin
• Terrence Wall (dropped out), real estate developer[5]

Campaign

Former Republican Governor of Wisconsin Tommy Thompson had expressed an interest in challenging Feingold,[6] but ruled himself out of the race in April 2010.[7]

Johnson, a millionaire manufacturer and Tea Party movement favorite running for political office for the first time, was the frontrunner. In response to controversy over his ownership of stock in British Petroleum (BP), Johnson said he would sell it when market conditions were favorable and possibly use the proceeds to help finance his Senate campaign.[8] Johnson was endorsed by ; the Club for Growth, a fiscally conservative advocacy organization; former Wisconsin Republican Lt. Governor Margaret Farrow; Republican U.S. Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina;[9][10] and Wisconsin Republican U.S. Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner, Tom Petri and Paul Ryan.[11] Businessman David Westlake was endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus.[12] According to the Center for Responsive Politics, as of August 25, 2010, Johnson had invested $4.3 million of his own money into his campaign; this amount represented 71 percent of his campaign funds, while 27 percent of his campaign funds ($1.6 million) came from individual contributions.[13]

Polling

Poll Source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ron Johnson	Dave Westlake	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (report)	June 26–27, 2010	400	± 4.9%	49%	11%	––	40%

Results

Republican Primary results[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ron Johnson	500,821	84.7%
	Republican	David Westlake	61,287	10.4%
	Republican	Stephen M. Finn	29,002	4.9%
Total votes			591,107	100.0%

General election

Candidates

• Russ Feingold (D), incumbent U.S. senator
• Ron Johnson (R), businessman
• Dave Rutowski (I)
• Rob Taylor (I) self-described Constitution Party candidate[15][16]

Campaign

Feingold's first television ad was a positive ad released in March. In July 2010, Feingold's second 2010 television election ad attacked Johnson for alleged support for offshore drilling in the Great Lakes. Johnson quickly countered Feingold with a television ad of his own.[17] Feingold's logo was Moving Forward. In one ad, he emphasized independence and called himself a "penny pincher."[18] Johnson argued that manufacturers and accountants were underrepresented in the U.S. Senate, and there were too many lawyers (57 out of 100 members, including Feingold).[19] Feingold received the endorsements of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Green Bay Press-Gazette.[20] The Beloit Daily News endorsed Johnson.[21]

Debates

• October 8 in Milwaukee
• October 11 in Wausau[22]
• October 22 in Eau Claire on WQOW[23]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Cook Political Report[24]	Lean R (flip)	October 31, 2010
Rothenberg[25]	Lean R (flip)	October 28, 2010
RealClearPolitics[26]	Lean R (flip)	October 31, 2010
Rasmussen Reports[27]	Lean R (flip)	October 30, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[28]	Lean R (flip)	October 28, 2010
CQ Politics[29]	Lean R (flip)	October 31, 2010

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Russ Feingold (D)	Ron Johnson (R)	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports	May 25, 2010	500	± 4.5%	46%	44%	3%	6%
Rasmussen Reports	June 21, 2010	500	± 4.5%	46%	45%	3%	6%
Public Policy Polling	June 26–27, 2010	638	± 3.9%	45%	43%	––	12%
Rasmussen Reports	July 13, 2010	750	± 4.0%	46%	47%	2%	6%
University of Wisconsin, Madison	July 15, 2010	500	± 3.9%	33%	28%	––	44%
Magellan Strategies	July 20, 2010	1,145	± 2.9%	45%	43%	3.7%	8%
Rasmussen Reports	July 27, 2010	500	± 4.0%	46%	48%	2%	5%
Rasmussen Reports	August 11, 2010	750	± 4.0%	46%	47%	2%	5%
Rasmussen Reports	August 24, 2010	750	± 4.0%	46%	47%	1%	5%
Rasmussen Reports	September 15, 2010	750	± 4.0%	44%	51%	1%	4%
Public Policy Polling	September 18–19, 2010	––	± 3.8%	41%	52%	––	7%
CNN/Time/Opinion Research	September 17–21, 2010	963	± 3.0%	45%	51%	2%	2%
McClatchy/Marist	September 26–28, 2010	806	± 3.5%	45%	52%	1%	3%
Rasmussen Reports	September 29, 2010	750	± 4.0%	42%	54%	2%	2%
We the People	September 29 – October 4, 2010	400	± 5.0%	41%	49%	––	––
We the People/Ispos	October 8, 2010	400	± 5.0%	44%	51%	––	––
Rasmussen Reports	October 11, 2010	750	± 4.0%	45%	52%	––	2%
CNN/Time/Opinion Research	October 8–12, 2010	1,506	± 2.5%	44%	52%	1%	––
St. Norbert College/WPR	October 12–15, 2010	402	± 5.0%	47%	49%	––	4%
Rasmussen Reports	October 25, 2010	750	± 4.0%	46%	53%	0%	1%
We the People	October 24–27, 2010	400	± 5.0%	44%	48%	––	6%
Public Policy Polling	October 26–28, 2010	1,372	± 2.6%	44%	53%	––	3%
Marist College	October 26–28, 2010	811	± 4.5%	45%	52%	1%	2%

Fundraising

Through December 31, 2010:

Candidate (Party)	Net Receipts	Disbursements	Beginning Cash	Latest Cash On Hand	Debt
Russ Feingold (D)	$13,947,563	$15,544,093	$2,516,119	$919,585	$0
Ron Johnson (R)	$15,509,297	$15,316,651	$0	$192,646	$8,708,465
Source: Federal Election Commission[30]

Results

General election results[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Ron Johnson	1,125,999	51.86%	+7.75%
	Democratic	Russ Feingold (incumbent)	1,020,958	47.02%	-8.33%
	Constitution	Rob Taylor	23,473	1.08%	N/A
	Write-in		901	0.04%	N/A
Total votes			2,170,430	100.00%	-26.4%
	Republican gain from Democratic

References

1. "Johnson leads race for GOP Senate bid". www.jsonline.com.
2. "GOP's Ron Johnson announces Senate run while in La Crosse". WKOW. April 15, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
3. Drake, Bruce (January 28, 2010). "Feingold May Be Vulnerable If Thompson Seeks His Wisconsin Senate Seat". Politics Daily. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
4. "Leinenkugel abruptly exits – David Catanese". Politico.Com. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
5. Giroux, Greg (May 27, 2010). "Wisconsin: Wall Confirms Decision To End Senate Bid – The Eye (CQ Politics)". Blogs.cqpolitics.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
6. "Ex-Gov Thompson Being Pushed To Run For Senate". WTAQ. January 26, 2010. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
7. "Thompson tells tea party rally he won't run for U.S. Senate". JS Online. April 15, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2010.
8. "Attack Ad Puts Feingold Foe On Defensive Over Great Lakes Drilling – The Eye (CQ Politics)". Blogs.cqpolitics.com. July 14, 2010. Archived from the original on July 19, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
9. "Ron Johnson". Ronjohnsonforsenate.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
10. "Club For Growth Puts Muscle Into More Races – The Eye (CQ Politics)". Blogs.cqpolitics.com. July 14, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
11. "Ron Johnson". Ronjohnsonforsenate.com. July 12, 2010. Archived from the original on July 27, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
12. "Endorsed Candidates – 2010 | Republican Liberty Caucus". Rlc.org. Archived from the original on August 13, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
13. Center for Responsive Politics, August 25, 2010, accessed October 1, 2010, http://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?id=WIS2&cycle=2010
14. "The 2010 Results Maps". POLITICO.
15. "Rob Taylor for Senate website". Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
16. "Real estate developer launches Senate campaign". WQOW. January 20, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
17. "Johnson Quick to Counterattack Feingold on Oil Ad". WNCT. Archived from the original on July 18, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
18. Walker, Don (August 24, 2010). "Washington-based group airs ad attacking Feingold".
19. "Ron Johnson says there are 57 lawyers, including Russ Feingold, in the U.S. Senate". @politifact.
20. "Wis. Newspapers Unveil Election Endorsements". WISN.com. March 6, 2012. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
21. "Johnson Leads Polls, Feingold Leads Endorsements". 620 WTMJ. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
22. Ramde, Dinesh (October 12, 2010). "Feingold and Johnson spar over funding of attack ads". Chippewa Herald. Associated Press. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
23. "Feingold holds roundtable discussion in Eau Claire – WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports".
24. "Senate". Cook Political Report. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
25. "Senate Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
26. "Battle for the Senate". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
27. "Election 2010: Senate Balance Of Power". Rasmussen Reports. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
28. "2010 Senate Ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
29. "Race Ratings Chart: Senate". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
30. "Summary Reports Search Results – 2009–2010 Cycle". fec.gov. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
31. "2010 Fall General Election" (PDF). State of Wisconsin. December 1, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

External links

• Elections & Voting at the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board
  • Candidate list
• U.S. Congress candidates for Wisconsin at Project Vote Smart
• Wisconsin U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
• Campaign contributions from Open Secrets
• 2010 Wisconsin Senate General Election: All Head-to-Head Matchups] graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
• Election 2010: Wisconsin Senate from Rasmussen Reports
• 2010 Wisconsin Senate Race from Real Clear Politics
• 2010 Wisconsin Senate Race from CQ Politics
• Race profile from The New York Times
• Election 2010 news coverage at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Official campaign websites (Archived)

• Russ Feingold for U.S. Senate incumbent
• Ron Johnson for Senate
• Dave Westlake for U.S. Senate