MILWAUKEE_Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson pulled off one of Wisconsin's great political upsets.
Down in the polls nearly every step of the way, Johnson surged in the final weeks and defeated Democrat Russ Feingold in their rematch race Tuesday.
Feingold called Johnson to concede a little after 10 p.m.
The 61-year-old Oshkosh manufacturer who has now beaten Feingold twice in six years, returns to the Senate for what he has said will be his second and final term.
"I told the truth and I think in the end Wisconsin had the common sense to recognize the truth and sincerity and seriousness of purpose," Johnson told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "That's what I brought to the table."
Johnson said that in asking "for a second and a final term," he made clear to the voters he wanted to solve the "enormous challenges facing this nation.
Johnson said his conversation with Feingold "was cordial."
"He called me up and was gracious, congratulated me," Johnson said. "He wished me well and I wished him well in the next chapter of his life."
For Feingold, 63, of Middleton, a former three-term senator, the loss could mark the end of his political career.
This was one of the longest, toughest and most expensive Senate races in Wisconsin history, matching two candidates who disagreed on almost every issue. With party control of the U.S. Senate at stake, money poured in, with the two candidates combining to raise more than $40 million, while third-party groups spent tens of millions of dollars more.
In the final week alone, outside groups spent more than $12 million to fuel a TV advertising blitz, bombarding viewers with one negative ad after another.
In reality, this was a six-year, two-part epic political story.
In 2010, Johnson was a political newcomer, fired by opposition to the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, and catapulted to victory by a tea party wave.
After that race, Johnson went to the Senate where he unsuccessfully fought a rear-guard action against Obamacare. But he found his footing after being named chairman of the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee.
For his part, Feingold rebounded from his loss with teaching assignments at Marquette University and Stanford University and a stint as a special envoy to Africa for the U.S. State Department. In spring 2015, Feingold announced he was running for the seat.
With so much history between the men, the race became testy in the final weeks, beginning with the second and final debate, where they sat side by side at Marquette University.
"I will stand with the people of this state," Feingold said. "Senator Johnson stands with the corporations, the billionaires and the multi-millionaires."
Johnson fired back: "I've listened to the false attack ads saying I'm in the pocket of big business."
During a meeting with editors and reporters of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Johnson offered a blunt assessment of Feingold.
"I don't respect phoniness," Johnson said.
Later, Johnson said: "I'll be frank with you, I'm not particularly happy with all the false attacks, the unbelievable negativity of his campaign against me."
In response, Feingold said he respected Johnson and the office he held.
During the campaign, Feingold had a more populist bent than in previous races, a sign of the economic times and the stresses facing the state's working class. He supported a $15 an hour minimum wage and making college more affordable for students. He also opposed the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal.
Feingold, who annually visited the state's 72 counties as a senator, did so again as a candidate. His travel became a central theme of his campaign advertisements as he said he listened to Wisconsinites who told him of their concerns about creating an economy that works for everyone.
Johnson ran on the issues of economic and national security, which enabled him to focus on his work as a committee chair involved in oversight of key government agencies. He pointed to his ability to work in a bipartisan fashion to get bills out of his committee and signed into law.
Johnson's campaign was slow to start, but once Labor Day rolled around, he went on air with ads that showed a more personal side. He championed an initiative called the Joseph Project, which linked Milwaukee workers to jobs in Sheboygan.
The campaigns clashed on a number of issues. Feingold's campaign hit Feingold for the $10 million deferred compensation he received from the plastics firm he ran before joining the Senate in 2010.
And Johnson's campaign went after Feingold for helping create Progressives United, a political action committee that gave only 5 percent of its income to federal candidates and parties.
