Elections

Ron Johnson Upsets Feingold In Wisconsin Senate Race

Juliegrace Brufke/TheDCNF

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Juliegrace Brufke Capitol Hill Reporter
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JANESVILLE, Wis.- GOP Sen. Ron Johnson will serve a second term in the U.S. Senate after edging out his Democratic opponent former Sen. Russ Feingold, whom he unseated in 2010.

Despite once being considered a lost cause by several polling experts, Johnson managed to close what was once a 16-point lead, with numbers showing him within the margin of error in the days leading up to the election.

With 70 percent reporting, the Associated Press called the race, with Johnson taking in 52 percent of the vote to Feingold’s 45 percent.

“Ron Johnson – like he has his whole life – earned this tonight. He is a work-horse who does not shy away from a fight because he is an effective conservative who gets things done. Ron is a man of integrity,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement. “I’ve seen that up close over the last six years, and I am just glad the rest of Wisconsin realized that tonight. He will be a great representative for our state, and I look forward to working with him in the next Congress.”

The campaign largely attributed his win to its strong ground game, positive messaging and solid fundraising numbers.

Despite Feingold’s early cash advantage, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee dumped a whopping $2 million into his campaign as it became clearer Wisconsin was becoming a battleground state.

The chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee painted Feingold as a career politician who has broken a number of promises to constituents and advocated for higher spending and Obamacare throughout the election. Feingold attacked Johnson for being pro-life and doing to much to help corporations.

Johnson spent the final four days of the election crisscrossing the Badger State with Ryan in an attempt to get out the vote. Major names including vice presidential nominee Indiana Gov. Mike Pence,  Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Republican Policy Committee Chairman Sen. John Barrasso came out to stump for the senator in his final push to win the state.

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