Candidates • Joseph Checota, businessman •
Russ Feingold, State Senator • Edmond C. Hou-Seye, perennial candidate • Thomas Keller •
Jim Moody, U.S. Representative
Campaign Feingold, who had little name recognition in the state and was campaigning in a primary against a pair of
millionaire opponents, U.S. Congressman
Jim Moody and Milwaukee businessman Joe Checota, adopted several proposals to gain the electorate's attention. The most memorable of these was a series of five promises written on Feingold's garage door in the form of a
contract. Also noted was Feingold's
advertising campaign, which was widely compared to that used by
progressive candidate
Paul Wellstone in his victorious Senate campaign in
Minnesota. Shot in the form of
home movies, the ads attempted to portray Feingold, who always referred to himself as "the
underdog running for U.S. senate," as a down-to-earth,
Capra-esque figure, taking the audience on a guided tour of the candidate's home and introducing them to his children, all of whom were enrolled in
public school. The ads also contained a significant amount of humor. One featured Feingold meeting with an
Elvis Presley impersonator, who offered Feingold his endorsement. (
Bob Kasten responded to the Elvis endorsement with an advertisement featuring an Elvis impersonator attacking Feingold's record.) Another showed Feingold standing next to a pair of half-sized cardboard cut-outs of his opponents, refusing to "stoop to their level" as the two were shown literally slinging mud at one another. The plan, which called for, among other things, a raise in
taxes and cuts in the
defense budget, was derided as "extremist" by
Republicans and "too
liberal" by his Democratic opponents. Feingold also announced his support for strict
campaign finance reform and a
national health care system and voiced his opposition to
term limits and new
tax cuts. Feingold won by positioning himself as a quirky underdog who offered voters an alternative to what was seen by many as negative campaigning of opponents
Jim Moody and Joe Checota. On primary day, Feingold, whose support had shown in the single digits throughout much of the campaign, surged to victory with 70 percent of the vote.
Results ==General election==