The Monroe Times, Monroe: Feingold Takes Aim
Feingold takes aim
By: Adam Krebs
MONROE - In the midst of the fight of his political life, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., was in Monroe Friday defending his years in the U.S. Senate and taking sharp aim at his GOP opponent, Oshkosh businessman Ron Johnson.
"My opponent's campaign almost never refers to Wisconsin," Feingold said during an interview at The Monroe Times. "He's using all of the rhetoric of the national Republican campaign. There's no source of Wisconsin flavor to it ..."
Johnson was unavailable for comment Friday but his website claims he has been to 60 of Wisconsin's 72 counties in advance of the Nov. 2 election.
The race is one of the most closely watched in the nation, as a dismal economy, rising deficit and an energized GOP base threaten once-safe Congressional seats, such as Feingold's. Johnson leads the incumbent by single digits, according to several national polls. But Feingold says he trusts his own pollsters, who've informed him it's still a dead heat.
"We've been either a point or two behind or a point or two ahead in eight out of the nine or nine out of the last ten weeks," Feingold said.
Johnson is a self-made millionaire who has spent millions of his money on his campaign. The latest report issued by Johnson's campaign has the candidate raising $3.3 million in the last quarter.
Feingold's office Friday said it has raised $3.3 million of its own during the most recent reporting period and has $3.5 million cash on hand. Much of that, Feingold maintains, was raised by "grassroots" efforts and contributions from smaller donors, with the average donation at $57.
