If there ever was a no-brainer endorsement for Daily Kos, it's this one: Russ Feingold for Senate. Back in April, before he got into the race polling found him
running way ahead in a potential contest, 50-41. If Feingold needed any encouragement, that was plenty and a month later he
answered the call and announced he was running again.
"People tell me all the time that our politics and Washington are broken. And that multi-millionaires, billionaires and big corporations are calling the shots," Feingold says in the video. "They especially say this about the U.S. Senate, and it's hard not to agree. But what are we going to do? Get rid of the Senate?
"Actually, no one I've listened to says we should throw in the towel and give up—and I don't think that either," he adds. "Instead, let's fight together for change. That means helping to bring back to the U.S. Senate strong independence, bipartisanship and honesty."
The
polls have tightened since he announced, but he's still comfortably ahead of Johnson with a 47-42 lead. Trailing by five is not where the incumbent wants to be at this point, and Johnson has another problem: "Feingold remains more popular, with a 42-30 favorability rating, compared to 30-31 for Johnson." Bottom line, this is probably the most winnable of all the Republican seats Democrats are looking to flip in 2016.
That's in large part because it is Feingold and because he is serious about taking his seat back, serious enough that he's not falling into the fundraising trap he set for himself in 2010 of raising the majority of his money from individuals in Wisconsin. "It makes no sense," he says, "now in light of the fact that you have dark money coming in, in unlimited amounts that isn't even disclosed. […] There is no hypocrisy or dishonesty when a certain set of facts that existed in 1992 simply do not exist anymore." It particularly doesn't make sense when he's running against the billionaire Johnson, who spent $9,000,000 of his own money to buy this Senate seat, and then was conveniently repaid $10,000,000 by his plastics company.
Not surprisingly, overturning Citizens United and bringing some sanity back to campaign finance is high on Feingold's list of priorities once back in office. On all the other issues, you know Feingold. Check out our endorsement questionnaire and his responses here. Medicare for all? Check. Protecting Social Security? Check. Comprehensive immigration reform? Check. Protecting the American workforce? Check. Filibuster reform? Well, we'll keep working with him on that one.
Democrats can take the Senate back in 2016, and this seat is key. There are lots of good reasons for supporting Feingold—winning back the Senate, getting a solid progressive in the seat, reclaiming Wisconsin. But it's also worth mentioning that in the competition to be the least intelligent Republican senator, Johnson is definitely in the running. Wisconsin, and the nation, deserves a hell of a lot better, and that's Feingold.
I'm in. I hope you are too. Even $3 makes a difference!