2004 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
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 County results Feingold: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 80–90% Michels: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Wisconsin |
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 Federal government |
 State government |
 Madison |
 Milwaukee |
The 2004 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Russ Feingold won re-election to a third term. As of 2022, this is the last time the Democrats won the Class 3 Senate seat from Wisconsin.
Candidates[]
Democratic[]
- Russ Feingold, incumbent U.S. Senator[1]
Republican[]
- Tim Michels, businessman and army veteran[1]
- Robert Welch, State Senator
Minor candidates[]
Libertarian[]
- Arif Khan, entrepreneur[2]
Independent[]
- Eugene Hem, perennial candidate and former educator[3]
General election[]
Campaign[]
Michels insisted he has more real world experience than Feingold, someone he called an "extreme liberal" who was out of touch with Wisconsin voters.[4] Feingold attacked back by saying that any Republican would be a rubber stamp for President Bush. The incumbent had $2.2 million in the bank, while Michels had already spent $1 million in the primary and had only about $150,000 left.[5]
During both the primary and general election campaigns, Michel ran a series of ads attacking Feingold for his status as the sole senator to oppose the 2001 Patriot Act. One of his earliest ads during the primary accused Feingold of putting "his liberal ideology before our safety", while another primary spot featured footage of the September 11 Attacks and a voice-over saying that "our leaders passed new laws to keep us safe. But Russ Feingold voted against those laws."[6] After easily winning the Republican primary against three opponents, Michel released two more anti-Feingold spots focusing on the Patriot Act. One of the ads showed further footage of the September 11 attacks, while another depicted a Middle Eastern spy photographing a Wisconsin nuclear power plant before Michels appears on-screen and announces that Unlike Russ Feingold, I will support renewing the PATRIOT Act, because we need to be able to track and stop terrorists before they strike again."[6] Michels reported that one-fifth of his campaign's advertising budget was devoted to making and airing the spots.[6]
In October, based on a belief that Feingold was vulnerable due in part to his vote on the Patriot Act, the NRSC pledged $600,000 in support of the Michel campaign. However, after the Michel commercials generated negative attention and Feingold continued to lead comfortably in most polls, the party rescinded their financial assistance.[7] On October 1, a poll showed Feingold leading 52% to 39%.[8] In mid October, another poll showed Feingold winning 48% to 43%. A poll at the end of the month showed him leading 51% to 36%.[9]
Predictions[]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[10] | Safe D | November 1, 2004 |
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Russ Feingold (incumbent) | 1,632,697 | 55.35% | |
| Republican | Tim Michels | 1,301,183 | 44.11% | |
| Libertarian | Arif Khan | 8,367 | 0.28% | |
| Independent | Eugene A. Hem | 6,662 | 0.23% | |
| Write-in | 834 | 0.03% | ||
| Total votes | 2,949,743 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
See also[]
- 2004 United States Senate elections
References[]
- ^ a b "2004 SENATE RACES" (PDF). CBS News. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ^ "In Wisconsin, a Muslim Libertarian for Senate". The Pluralism Project. July 6, 2004. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ^ Thoreson, Bridget (October 27, 2004). "Incumbent Feingold faces competition in Senate race". Marquette Wire. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ "MICHELS TOUTS RURAL ROOTS IN JOINING GOP SENATE RACE.(FRONT) - The Capital Times | HighBeam Research". November 4, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04.
- ^ "Michels, Feingold already sparring". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 2004-09-16. Archived from the original on 2016-04-28 – via news.google.com.
- ^ a b c Weigel, David (November 2005). "When Patriots Dissent". Reason. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Masse, Ryan (October 15, 2004). "Republican committee pulls ads for Michels". The Badger Herald. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ Zielinski, Graeme (1 October 2004). "Feingold holds big lead over Michels, poll says". nl.newsbank.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-09.
- ^ Zielinski, Graeme (30 October 2004). "Feingold, Michels each say campaign is going his way". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2016-05-13 – via news.google.com/.
- ^ "The Final Predictions". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- ^ "2004 Fall General Election results" (PDF). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. November 2, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 13, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- 2004 Wisconsin elections
- 2004 United States Senate elections
- United States Senate elections in Wisconsin