Written by guest blogger Zach W from BLOGGING BLUE
In November of this year, voters across the state of Wisconsin will go to the polls and cast their votes to choose their next United States Senator. While 2010 promises to be a difficult year for incumbent elected officials across the nation, Sen. Russ Feingold, the incumbent in Wisconsin’s 2010 U.S. Senate race, seems poised to win reelection, with $3.6 million cash on hand in his campaign war chest (that’s ten times more than any of his opponents), along with a record that reflects his status as a true maverick within the Democratic Party.
At this moment, Sen. Feingold has two Republican challengers, as well as a challenger from the Constitution Party, so here’s a brief rundown on Sen. Feingold’s opponents:
- Terrence Wall: Republican Terrence Wall, a multimillionaire real estate developer, hails from the posh Madison suburb of Maple Bluff, where he ran for that village’s board of trustees twice – and lost twice. Wall has already written his U.S. Senate campaign a $275,000 loan, and his first television ad, which went negative against Sen. Feingold, has already been labeled as “misleading” by the Associated Press. Wall’s U.S. Senate campaign also got off to a rocky start, battling revelations he hasn’t paid Wisconsin state income taxes in 12 of the last 15 years, while also kicking off his campaign with a series of private “invitation only” events.
- Dave Westlake: Republican Dave Westlake, a small business owner and West Point graduate, hails from Watertown. Westlake seems to have fully embraced the “Tea Party” movement, and despite an early promise not to use any gimmicks, he’s taken to wearing a blaze orange shirt at every campaign event. Unlike Terrence Wall, Westlake is not independently wealthy, and according to Federal Election Commission reports, Westlake raised roughly $27,000 in 2009, with only $2,500 cash on hand at the end of the year.
- Rob Taylor: Rob Taylor, a member of the Constitution Party, is a two-term alderman in the City of Cumberland, population 2,280. Taylor is a libertarian in the truest sense of the word, and it’s worth noting he has not filed any reports with the Federal Election Commission.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Proud Republican, there’s no doubt it’s going to be a fun race in Wisconsin, but to address your point about the MA Senate race, I don’t really see how that will have much bearing on Wisconsin’s race, because the two races are very different. While MA is obviously pretty liberal, there wasn’t a strong incumbent running in that race, and there’s plenty that Martha Coakley did wrong, while on the other hand Scott Brown seemed to do everything right.
On the other hand, we have a strong incumbent here in Wisconsin, and it seems like Wall and Westlake (though especially Wall) have done a lot wrong during their campaigns.
.-= Zach W´s last blog ..Why can’t Terrence Wall tell the truth? =-.
Zach,
Common sense would tell us that it will be practically impossible for anyone to unseat senator Feingold due to his history and the fact his coffers are overflowing with cash. The monkey wrench in this is the Scott Brown victory in Mass which still has me dumbfounded. There is a conservative movement afoot due to many things Obama has failed to deliver on and I believe any liberal senate seat can be won by a conservative. On the flip side I think the liberals may have learned from the Scott Brown victory and they will be better prepared for the upcoming battles. In the Wisconsin race I don’t like the fact that Wall has run for the village’s board of trustees twice and lost. Where there is smoke there is fire! Westlake is appealing because of his small business background and being a West Point graduate is big. This will be a fun race to watch and we’ll see how involved the RNC gets with money and staff support.
Learning a ton from these neat arltices.