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| WISCONSIN |
Nov. 8,
2016 U.S. Senate |
|
WI
Elections Commission
Notes: Wisconsin was seen as a prime Democratic pick up opportunity but Sen. Ron Johnson (R) pulled off the upset—one of the biggest surprises of the cycle—defeating former Sen. Russ Feingold (D) to win a second term. The American Association of Political Consultants named Johnson's campaign manager Betsy Ankney "Campaign Manager of the Year" for her role in the race. According to AAPC' profile of Ankney, she "managed a $20 million budget and... a headquarters staff of 15 in addition to working with the largest and most successful field program in Wisconsin’s history with 86 field staff and 40 offices, resulting in 4 million volunteer voter contacts." Feingold who served three terms in the Senate from 1993-2011, was one of the three prominent "retread" Democrats running for Senate in 2016 (along with Bayh in Indiana and Strickland in Ohio). However the "fed up with politics" dynamic was very strong and none of three succeeded; Feingold came closest. Johnson and Feingold engaged in two debates, the first sponsored by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association in Green Bay at on Oct. 14 (>) and the second at Marquette University Law School on Oct. 18 (>). According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Wisconsin was the ninth most expensive Senate race of 2016 with total spending of $76.3 million including $44.9 million by the campaigns and $31.4 million by outside groups (>). According to the FEC, for 2015-16 the Feingold campaign reported disbursements of $24.8 million compared to $18.2 million for the Johnson campaign (>). Johnson (1,479,471 votes) ran ahead of Trump (1,404,000 votes) while the vote tallies for Feingold and Clinton were fairly close. Johnson's margin of victory was 99,136 votes (3.36 percentage points) compared to 22,748 votes (0.74 percentage points) for Trump. Campaign Managers: Ron Johnson: Betsy Ankney (June 2013) Deputy political director for operations at the RNC for the Fall 2012 campaign from June 2012. Associate at Collins Anderson Philp Public Affairs, May 2011-May 2012. Political fundraising consultant (Epiphany Productions), organized the NRCC March Dinner, Jan.-April 2011. A regional political coordinator at the RNC, June 2009-Jan. 2011. Assistant to the president and CEO at the 2008 Republican National Convention, Jan.-Sept. 2008. B.A. in political science and business from Vanderbilt University, 2009. Russ Feingold: Tom Russell (May 2015) General consultant on Van Hollen for Senate (MD), 2015. Director of the Coalition for Consumer and Online Protection, 2014. General consultant to For Maryland Jobs and Schools, 2012. Campaign manager on Gov. Martin O'Malley (MD)'s re-election, July 2009-Nov. 2010. Staff director of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, Jan. 2007-Feb. 2009. Campaign manager on Sen. Debbie Stabenow (MI)'s re-election, Apr.-Nov. 2006. Deputy chief of staff to Sen. Stabenow, Apr. 2003-Apr. 2006. Campaign manager on Falk for Governor (WI), July 2001-Sept. 2002. General consultant on Diane Watson for Congress (CA), Feb.-Apr. 2001. Campaign manager on Byrum for Congress (MI), Feb.-Dec. 2000. Campaign manager on Wineke for Congress (WI), Jan.-Sept. 1998. Campaign manager on Waks for Senate (NJ), Apr.-Nov. 1997. Associate editor at Campaigns and Elections Magazine, Dec. 1995-July 1996. B.S. in government from Hamilton College, 1995. See: Alex Roarty. "How Johnson Used Data to Pull Off the Upset." Roll Call, Nov. 14, 2016. Tom Russell. "Despite millions in late attacks, Russ poised to win Tuesday." RFW Memo, Nov. 7, 2016. |
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