Received this e-mail today from Russ Feingold’s (D. WI) and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee:
Thousands of PCCC members have donated to my U.S. Senate campaign in Wisconsin over the last year, so I wanted to give you an update on where we are.
The opposition is getting nervous. Last week, the Koch brothers announced they'll be spending $30 million on Senate ads this year. They've already run $3 million worth of ads against me, piling on along with my opponent and the other outside groups supporting his campaign. And you and I both know that's only the beginning.
To date, these 10 groups have run ads against me:
- National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC)
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Americans for Prosperity (a Koch-backed group)
- Freedom Partners
- Club for Growth
- Wisconsin Alliance for Reform
- Judicial Crisis Network
- America's PAC
- Restoration PAC
- Let America Work
That list might scare you, but it shouldn't intimidate you -- because we're going to hit our goal of raising $50,000 online, and every dollar will be spent making sure Wisconsin voters know the truth about my campaign and Senator Ron Johnson's record. The only thing we need is you.
Help me take on Senator Johnson and the 10 outside groups supporting him. Make a $3 grassroots contribution to my campaign by the May 31 deadline.
Meanwhile, I've just wrapped up visiting all of Wisconsin's 72 counties twice. We've put over 40,000 miles on the campaign van and made 324 stops -- including 9 farms, 27 college campuses, and 34 coffee shops!
At every stop, we're talking about the kinds of big, bold, progressive ideas that will help everyday people in Wisconsin and across the nation -- ideas such as overturning Citizens United, Wall Street reform and accountability, debt-free college, expanding Social Security, and raising the minimum wage.
And we're just getting started. In one week, I'm submitting my nomination signatures to officially be on the ballot in November. We're also unveiling our first-ever traveling Campaign HQ -- a 1989 Winnebago that'll be on the road for the next six months delivering yard signs, bumper stickers, and other campaign materials to voters across Wisconsin.
We have the momentum and we can win this, but only with your help. Will you join me by making a $3 contribution before the May 31 deadline?
I'm proud of the campaign we're running. And I'll put my grassroots support against Senator Johnson's special interest money any time. Thank you for standing with me every step of the way.
Thanks for all that you're doing,
Russ
Click here to donate.
And I finally received that campaign e-mail from Bernie Sanders in support of Feingold’s campaign:
There are few people who have done more to address the obscene proliferation of money in politics than Russ Feingold.
There is also no one the Koch brothers want to keep out of the U.S. Senate more than Russ Feingold.
Russ is running to win a seat in the Senate from Republican Ron Johnson, someone who was called the Koch brothers’ "model legislator."
Russ Feingold is someone we need in the Senate, and I'm proud to endorse his campaign. Can you join me in helping elect Russ Feingold?
Split a $2.70 contribution between Bernie 2016 and Russ Feingold before our final FEC fundraising deadline of the primary to show that we can elect senators who don't need big money in politics.
Let me tell you a little about what made Russ so effective when he was in the Senate. Russ was the sole vote in the Senate against the USA Patriot Act in 2001. He opposed the war in Iraq, he fought disastrous trade deals and worked to reform our health care system. Russ was also an author of the McCain-Feingold Act to reform our corrupt campaign finance system.
Meanwhile, his Republican opponent credits a Koch brothers organization with inspiring him to run for Senate in the first place. Ron Johnson wants to privatize veterans' health care and even said he supports Donald Trump as the Republican nominee.
Russ has already faced a huge influx of big money trying to keep him out of the Senate. In fact, the Koch brothers had their ads from a $2 million campaign against Russ taken off the air by TV stations when they were noted to be "false, misleading, and deceptive."
That won't be the last time the Koch brothers try to take out Russ. We need to make sure that Russ can fight back and win.
Please make a $2.70 contribution between Bernie 2016 and Russ Feingold before our final FEC fundraising deadline of the primary to show the billionaire class that they can't buy our elections.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
Click here to donate to Russ and Bernie.