Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Tim Michels emphasized his contrast to his opponent, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., in his speech to the College Republicans Monday night in Grainger Hall.
\If you cannot draw a contrast to an incumbent, you will not win,"" Michels said. He then added 90 percent of Senate incumbents win, but the 10 percent of challengers that win do so because they can draw a contrast to the incumbent.
Michels encouraged all in attendance to contrast his life with Feingold's voting record. He said his time spent serving in the army contrasted with Feingold's defense voting record. Michels also touched upon his creation of jobs as the owner of the Michels Corporation and Feingold's record on tax increases.
""Feingold has failed us on jobs and the economy,"" Michels said. ""[If I'm elected] we can get a fiscal conservative in Washington, somebody who will stand by his troops. We'll also have one less lawyer in the Senate.""
Although Michels claimed he currently trails Feingold by 6 percent, he expressed optimism for the election Nov. 2. He said right after the primary he was down 9 percent and pundits were impressed he was so close-they had expected a relative newcomer like Michels to be down at least 15 percent at that point. A strong primary season with many strong candidates gave the Republican cause much publicity, which translated into more public knowledge of Michels' viewpoints.
The polls have continually become stronger for Michels, and he cited his appeal to veterans, construction workers and what he termed ""the weekend Harley riders,"" as the reason for his success so far.
Students in attendance were impressed with Michels' outgoing personality and youth.
""It was a very sincere and genuine speech; he was very down to earth and presented a good message,"" UW-Madison senior Ryan Stengel said.
UW-Madison senior Reid Otto agreed, adding Michels made it clear that he would be part of the 10 percent of senatorial candidates who beat incumbents.
""He's a great candidate, he has ambitions to do things for Wisconsin that Feingold has not accomplished,"" Students for Michels Chair and UW-Madison sophomore LaVonne Derksen said. ""He represents the people in this state a lot better than Feingold.\
