The 2010 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 2, 2010.

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Democratic Senator

Russ Feingold Russell Dana Feingold ( ; born March 2, 1953) is an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, h ...

lost re-election to a fourth term to Republican challenger

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Rep ...

, a businessman and first-time candidate. Johnson was the first Republican to win a Senate election in Wisconsin since

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. Feingold also became the fifth senator in a row from Wisconsin's Class 3 Senate seat to be defeated for re-election in the general election, and the seventh in a row overall to lose by a defeat in either the primary or general elections. Johnson was re-elected in 2016 in a rematch with Feingold.

Republican primary

Candidates

On the ballot * Stephen Finn,

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, hot-water production, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

, businessman * Dave Westlake, businessman Declined * Ted Kanavas, state senator * Dick Leinenkugel (dropped out), former State

Commerce Secretary The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to Commerce, commerce. The sec ...

Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 19th United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005 in the Presidency of George W. Bush, cabinet of President of the United State ...

, former

governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

* Terrence Wall (dropped out), real estate developer

Campaign

Former Republican Governor of Wisconsin

had expressed an interest in challenging Feingold, but ruled himself out of the race in April 2010. Johnson, a millionaire manufacturer and

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2007, catapulted into the mainstream by Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The movement expanded in resp ...

favorite running for political office for the first time, was the frontrunner. In response to controversy over his ownership of stock in BP, Johnson said he would sell it when market conditions were favorable and possibly use the proceeds to help finance his Senate campaign. Johnson was endorsed by: the

Club for Growth The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) political organization active in the United States, with a fiscally conservative agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues. Club for Growth's largest funders are billionaires Jeff Yass a ...

, a fiscally conservative

advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

organization; former Wisconsin Republican Lt. Governor Margaret Farrow; Republican U.S. Senator

Jim DeMint James Warren DeMint (born September 2, 1951) is an American businessman, author, and retired politician who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from South Carolina and as president of The Heritage Foundation. A leading figure ...

of South Carolina; and Wisconsin Republican U.S. Representatives

Jim Sensenbrenner Frank James Sensenbrenner Jr. (; born June 14, 1943) is an American politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 2021 (numbered as the 9th district until 2003). He is a member of the Republican Party. ...

Tom Petri Thomas Evert Petri (born May 28, 1940) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1979 to 2015; he is a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Early lif ...

and

Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...

. Businessman David Westlake was endorsed by the

Republican Liberty Caucus The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of Individual freedom, individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party (United States), Republi ...

. According to

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector an ...

, as of August 25, 2010, Johnson had invested $4.3 million of his own money into his campaign; this amount represented 71 percent of his campaign funds, while 27 percent of his campaign funds ($1.6 million) came from individual contributions.

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

(D), incumbent U.S. senator *

(R), businessman * Dave Rutowski (I) * Rob Taylor (I) self-described Constitution Party candidate

Campaign

Feingold's first television ad was a positive ad released in March. In July 2010, Feingold's second 2010 television election ad attacked Johnson for alleged support for

offshore drilling Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the ter ...

in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. Johnson quickly countered Feingold with a television ad of his own. Feingold's logo was ''Moving Forward''. In one ad, he emphasized independence and called himself a " penny pincher." Johnson argued that

manufacturers Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

and

accountants An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifie ...

were underrepresented in the U.S. Senate, and there were too many lawyers (57 out of 100 members, including Feingold). Feingold received the endorsements of the

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

and the

Green Bay Press-Gazette The ''Green Bay Press-Gazette'' is a newspaper whose primary coverage is northeastern Wisconsin, including Green Bay. History The newspaper was founded as the ''Green Bay Gazette'' in 1866 as a weekly paper, becoming a daily newspaper in 1 ...

. The Beloit Daily News endorsed Johnson.

Debates

* October 8 in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

* October 11 in Wausau * October 22 in

Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...

WQOW WQOW (channel 18) is a television station in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States, serving the Chippewa Valley as an affiliate of American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Owned by Allen Media Group, the station has studios on Friedeck Road in Eau Clai ...

Predictions

Polling

Fundraising

Through December 31, 2010:

Results

Counties that flipped Democratic to Republican

* Barron (largest city: Rice Lake) *

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

(largest city: Green Bay) * Burnett (largest village: Grantsburg) * Clark (largest city: Neillsville) * Chippewa (largest city: Chippewa Falls) *

Iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

(largest city: Hurley) * Jefferson (largest city: Watertown) * Kewaunee (largest city: Algoma) * Langlade (largest city: Antigo) * Manitowoc (largest city: Manitowoc) *

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

(largest city: Wausau) *

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

(largest city:

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

) * Oneida (largest city: Rhinelander) * Outagamie (largest city: Appleton) *

Rusk A rusk is a hard, dry Biscuit#Biscuits in British usage, biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the ...

(largest city: Ladysmith) * Washburn (largest city: Spooner) * Buffalo (largest city: Mondovi) * Columbia (largest city:

Portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

) *

Door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...

(largest city: Sturgeon Bay) * Dunn (largest city: Menomonie) *

Forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

(largest city: Crandon) * Grant (largest city: Platteville) *

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

(largest city: Black River Falls) *

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

(largest city: Mauston) *

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 census. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Ke ...

(largest city:

) * Lafayette (largest city:

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

) * Lincoln (largest city: Merrill) * Pepin (largest city: Durand) *

Price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a ph ...

(largest city: Park Falls) * Racine (largest city: Racine) * Richland (largest city: Richland Center) * Sawyer (largest city: Hayward) * Trempealeau (largest city: Arcadia) * Winnebago (largest city: Oshkosh) * Adams (largest city: Adams) *

Polk DNA polymerase kappa is a DNA polymerase that in humans is encoded by the ''POLK'' gene. It is involved in translesion synthesis DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the ...

(Largest city: Amery) * St. Croix (Largest city:

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

) *

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

(Largest city: Medford)

References

External links

Elections & Voting
at the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board *
Candidate list

U.S. Congress candidates for Wisconsin
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected offic ...

Wisconsin U.S. Senate
from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions
from Open Secrets

2010 Wisconsin Senate General Election: All Head-to-Head Matchups] graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com''
Election 2010: Wisconsin Senate
from

Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...

2010 Wisconsin Senate Race
from

Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator. It was founded in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. It features selected politi ...

2010 Wisconsin Senate Race
from

CQ Politics ''Congressional Quarterly'', or ''CQ'', is an American publication that is part of the privately owned publishing company CQ Roll Call, which covers the United States Congress. ''CQ'' was formerly acquired by the U.K.-based The Economist Group, ...

Race profile
from

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Election 2010 news coverage
at the

Official campaign websites (Archived)
Russ Feingold for U.S. Senate
incumbent
Ron Johnson for Senate

Dave Westlake for U.S. Senate
{{United States elections, 2010

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2010 Wisconsin elections