Sen. Ron Johnson won re-election late Tuesday over Russ Feingold in Wisconsin, capping a remarkable come-from-behind win that closed off Democrats’ chances of winning the chamber outright.
Networks called the win for Mr. Johnson, who had been running behind Mr. Feingold throughout the race but received a major financial boost from the Senate Leadership Fund, a GOP super PAC, as the race tightened down the stretch, and as big names like House Speaker Paul D. Ryan campaigned on his behalf.
His win meant Democrats could, at best, hope for a 50-50 tie in this cycle’s battle for the Senate, after GOP incumbents held serve elsewhere.
“Wisconsin won a huge victory tonight by re-electing Ron Johnson,” said Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh, which patted itself on the back for investing in the race while other conservative groups wrote off Mr. Johnson.
Mr. Feingold, who served two Senate terms before losing to Mr. Johnson in 2010, cast himself as a hero for middle-income families in his rematch with Mr. Johnson, saying the GOP incumbent sided with “the corporations, the multi-millionaires and the billionaires almost every single time.”
Yet Mr. Johnson, a manufacturing CEO, reminded voters that Mr. Feingold supported Obamacare, as reports of rising premiums hit the airwaves, and his last-minute boost from GOP donors and personalities appeared to pay off.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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