Campaign Michels insisted he had more real world experience than Feingold, someone he called an "extreme liberal" who was out of touch with Wisconsin voters. 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. During both the primary and general election campaigns, Michels 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." 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." On October 1, a poll showed Feingold leading 52% to 39%. 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%.
Predictions Polling Results Counties that flipped Republican to Democratic •
Barron (largest city:
Rice Lake) •
Brown (largest city:
Green Bay) •
Burnett (largest village:
Grantsburg) •
Clark (largest city:
Neillsville) •
Kewaunee (largest city:
Algoma) •
Langlade (largest city:
Antigo) •
Manitowoc (largest city:
Manitowoc) •
Marathon (largest city:
Wausau) •
Monroe (largest city:
Sparta) •
Oneida (largest city:
Rhinelander) •
Outagamie (largest city:
Appleton) •
Rusk (largest city:
Ladysmith) •
Washburn (largest city:
Spooner) •
Lafayette (largest city:
Darlington) •
Pepin (largest city:
Durand) •
Racine (largest city:
Racine) •
Richland (largest city:
Richland Center) •
Sawyer (largest city:
Hayward) •
Winnebago (largest city:
Oshkosh) •
Polk (Largest city:
Amery) •
St. Croix (Largest city:
Hudson) •
Taylor (Largest city:
Medford) •
Door (largest city:
Sturgeon Bay) •
Grant (largest city:
Platteville) •
Juneau (largest city:
Mauston) •
Wood (largest city:
Marshfield) •
Chippewa (largest city:
Chippewa Falls)
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican •
Florence (Largest city:
Florence) == See also ==