WASHINGTON _ A Democratic super PAC is making a surprise major investment in the Wisconsin Senate race in the election's final days, a sign that a race many Democrats had long considered a sure victory has become unexpectedly tight.
Senate Majority PAC plans to spend $2 million on behalf of former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, who faces GOP Sen. Ron Johnson. The ads will run on broadcast and cable TV.
Since the election cycle began, even many Republicans had believed that the first-term Republican senator was likely to lose his re-election battle. Johnson trailed Feingold in nearly every poll of the race this year, sometimes by as many as 10 points or more.
Democrats stressed that the ad buy was a precautionary step, made possible in part by the group's record fundraising (it raised more than $19 million in the first 19 days of October alone). Party strategists say they believe Feingold is still on track to win.
But the GOP lawmaker has run a campaign designed to make him look like the outsider against Feingold, who served three terms in the Senate before losing to Johnson in 2010. In a year when public dissatisfaction with the status quo is near all-time highs, that approach has proven unusually effective for candidates from either party.
"Republican special interests are on track to spend more than $10 million attacking Russ Feingold because they want to keep Ron Johnson in the Senate to do their bidding at Wisconsin's expense," said Shripal Shah, SMP spokesman. "Feingold remains positioned to win, but we aren't going to take any chances by letting these attacks remain unanswered."
The activity in Wisconsin mirrors a larger trend across the map in congressional races this year: Though Democrats are expected to do well on Election Day, they have struggled to close out races they were long expected to win.
In Iowa's First Congressional District, for example, a race Democrats have long considered one of their top pickup opportunities, the super PAC Priorities USA was forced to make a large, last-minute investment to help push the Democrats' nominee over the top.
Democrats also point out that even with the buy in Wisconsin, they've been able to expand the map of winnable Senate seats in places like Indiana and Missouri. On Thursday, the SMP also slated more spending for Florida, a state it had previously abandoned.
