Poll Indicates Russ Feingold Is The Democrats Best Shot To Win Kohl's Wisconsin Senate Seat

Good News for Feingold, Baldwin
By Matthew Rothschild
Editor of The Progressive
May 24, 2011

A new poll out on Tuesday brings good news to former Sen. Russ Feingold and to Rep. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

In the race to win the seat of retiring senator Herb Kohl, either one of them would do very well.

Feingold would do best of all, as he would beat all comers, according to Public Policy Polling.

“Russ Feingold’s going to start out as a solid favorite if he wants to go back to the Senate,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “His loss last year had less to do with him than the national political climate and because of Scott Walker’s unpopularity things have shifted back toward the Democrats more quickly in Wisconsin than most other places.”

Read the full article at:

http://www.progressive.org/wx0524b11.html


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 24, 2011
Feingold Dems’ best shot for Kohl Senate seat

Raleigh, N.C. – Despite being upset by first-time candidate Ron Johnson last fall, Russ
Feingold is poised for a strong comeback to electoral politics in Wisconsin’s other Senate
seat, if he chooses to run. With Herb Kohl’s recent retirement announcement, a number
of candidates on both sides are considering bids in what could be one of the hottest
Senate races in the country, and a tougher one for Democrats to hold than had Kohl run
for another term. But while Democrats have a slight upper hand in the early going, no
matter their candidate, their strongest choice would be Feingold, particularly against the
most well-known Republican, former Governor Tommy Thompson.

In February, Kohl was leading any of the Republicans PPP tested against him by seven to
15 points, and in December, led Thompson by nine. Now Thompson tops Rep. Tammy
Baldwin by one and former Rep. Steve Kagen by three, and ties Rep. Ron Kind. But
Feingold puts him away by ten points, 52-42. Feingold is better liked than Thompson by
independents and has better numbers within his own party, so he wins with independents,
49-40, and earns 91% of Democrats’ votes and loses only 5% to Thompson, while taking
8% of Republicans and keeping Thompson at 87%.

Feingold and Thompson are the heavy-hitters at the outset of this formative open-seat
race, both known by well over 80% of voters, better than the 57% who have an opinion
of Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, 53% of former Rep. Mark Neumann,
Assemblyman Jeff Fitzgerald, and Baldwin, 40% of Kind, and 37% of Kagen.

“Russ Feingold’s going to start out as a solid favorite if he wants to go back to the
Senate,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “His loss last year had
less to do with him than the national political climate and because of Scott Walker’s
unpopularity things have shifted back toward the Democrats more quickly in Wisconsin
than most other places.”

PPP surveyed 1,636 Wisconsin voters from May 19th to 22nd. The margin of error for the
survey is +/-2.4%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political
organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP
is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times
found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican
candidates.

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_WI_0524930.pdf

He's the kind of Dem. Senator we need.

Nothing against the other Democratic candidates, but Feingold was a Senator that comes along once every 50 years or so. He is irreplaceable. The country needs him and Wisconsin needs him. There are others who can step up and beat Walker and restore sanity to the Governor's office.

He may feel he can accomplish more outside of DC.

He was one of the best Democratic Senators.

:kick:

:kick: