Challenger Russ Feingold is leading U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., by 10 points in the U.S. Senate race this fall, according to a poll released Wednesday by St. Norbert College.
Among 616 respondents, 51 percent say they would vote for Feingold, the Democratic challenger, if the election were held today, while 41 percent say they would chose Johnson, the incumbent.
Feingold most recently served as the United States special envoy for the African Great Lakes. He once served as a U.S. senator from 1993 to 2011, but lost his campaign for re-election to Johnson. Feingold is most famous for being the co-sponsor of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, a piece of campaign finance reform legislation, with U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Meanwhile, Johnson has said he supports less government spending as well as reducing federal tax rates. He opposes abortion except in cases of incest, rape or when the mother's life is in danger and has touted his strong position on gun rights.
The survey also included questions targeting attitudes towards the overall direction of the state and country, specific politicians' performances and other specific issues. Specifically, 63 percent of respondents agree with the statement that the country is going in the wrong direction, compared to only 29 percent for the right direction. When the same question is posed about Wisconsin, the results drop to 56 percent for the wrong direction and increases to 37 percent for the right direction.
Economy and jobs, politics and education are the top three most important problems facing the state today, according to the poll’s respondents.
The Wisconsin Survey is implemented twice a year by the Strategic Research Institute of St. Norbert College in collaboration with Wisconsin Public Radio and Television, and usually pertains to state and national issues. The 616 respondents are randomly selected from registered voters to take part in the landline and cell phone survey in mid-April.
