Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson Defeats Russ Feingold, Again

In a closely watched race in the swing state of Wisconsin, incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson wins re-election against the man he ousted six years ago.

With two-thirds of the vote in, Johnson had a solid lead.

During a late surge, Johnson and his surrogates launched a last minute spending spree on campaign ads in the last weeks of the campaign as some polls showed former Sen. Russ Feingold’s large lead dwindling to, in some cases a tie and in others only a small Feingold lead.

Johnson, a businessman and first time politician when he first ran in 2010, was swept into office along with a wave of conservative-minded challengers that year. While he departed often from the Tea Party line during his tenure in Washington, he has certainly been more conservative than Feingold, whom he replaced as the Badger State’s Senator.

For his part, Feingold is a liberal lion of very long standing and held the seat Johnson now occupies from 1992 all the way to 2010 when Johnson shocked by toppling the then powerful Wisconsin Democrat. Holding the seat gives Republicans a good chance of retaining control of the Senate.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.