There are just four weeks before the election and internal data looks promising for GOP Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who is fending off Democratic challenger, former Sen. Russ Feingold.
The tight race is a critical win for Republicans in their fight to retain the majority in the upper chamber, and the Johnson camp said they feel confident they can continue to gain momentum in coming days. Johnson previously defeated Feingold in 2010.
The campaign attributed a portion of its success to a multi-million dollar advertising push, having put out four new television ads and two radio spots since the start of September.
While the Real Clear Politics average once had Feingold leading by eight points, the gap has significantly narrowed in recent weeks — despite the latest woes faced by the GOP nominee at the top of the ticket.
“Our internal data has shown a consistent tightening of the race since August, and now shows Ron with a slight edge and independents breaking our way,” the memo reads. “Keep in mind that this is the same vaunted data operation that predicted the outcome of the 2014 gubernatorial race in Wisconsin within 2,200 votes.”
The campaign’s findings align with two recent polls, one of which shows Johnson with a five-point lead and the other trailing by three but within the margin of error. Both polls show Johnson has a stronger showing than GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Campaign staff noted the Wisconsin Republican party has put a strong emphasis on its ground game during the 2016 election cycle, a factor they hope will clinch a win in November.
“We’ve made over 2,000,000 volunteer voter contacts to date, including knocking on over 1,000,000 doors,” the memo says. “Contrast this with the fact Senator Feingold indicated his team has knocked on just 84,000 doors as of September 24. Sad!”
Feingold managed to being with $5.2 million in the third quarter, slightly more than Johnson’s $4 million, but has not released the amount of cash he now has on hand. Johnson has $5.4 million, leaving Republicans to speculate the Democratic politician has been spending at a record pace.
According to the Johnson camp, the senator received 80,000 donations from Wisconsinites, while Feingold took in 50,000 with 70 percent coming in from out of state.
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