Former Republican Governor Tommy Thompson is considering a run against U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, in the upcoming 2010 election, according to a former Thompson aide.
""This is the most serious I've seen him since he left Wisconsin in 2000,"" Bill McCoshen, a former Thompson chief of staff and campaign manager, said. ""He's got some business issues he's got to work through and then obviously he's got to get final approval from his family to go forward. Those are the last two hurdles he has to overcome and he's working on both of them.""
McCoshen said Thompson is considering the run because he is ""disturbed"" about the direction of the country, citing the national deficit and Feingold's support for the stimulus and health-care bills. He said Feingold's potential vote for reconciliation on the health-care legislation may be the ""final straw that puts Tommy in the race.""
John Kraus, senior strategist for Feingold's campaign, said Thompson walked away from a budget deficit in Wisconsin when he took the position as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under former President George W. Bush.
He praised Feingold's record of fiscal restraint and said Feingold consistently shows his opposition to pork-barrel spending.
""We'll put [Feingold's] record on being tough on spending against anybody,"" he said.
If Thompson enters the race for the Republican nomination, he would face competition from entrepreneur Terrence Wall and businessman Dave Westlake. According to McCoshen, Thompson has the support of the republican party.
""The national party doesn't see him as having any weaknesses,"" McCoshen said. ""He's won statewide here four times. He had a phenomenal track record.""
He also cited Thompson's popularity among Wisconsin voters as a potential challenge for his competitors.
""People have fond memories of how good Wisconsin was doing when Tommy was governor,"" he said. ""Tommy hasn't been on the ballot in 12 years in Wisconsin and he still has 95 percent name identification … He has a significant head start on both [Republican contenders].""
Although he cited the Republican victory in Massachusetts as a possible sign of change, McCoshen said if Thompson decides to run and secures the nomination, the race for the Senate seat would be ""one of the greatest political battles in Wisconsin history.""
