Former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., announced Tuesday his plans to tour Wisconsin weeks after his departure from the U.S. Department of State.
The announcement came amidst circulating rumors speculating the former Democratic senator is considering a run for his former seat in the 2016 Election. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., unseated Feingold in 2010.
In the first Facebook post on his public page since June 2013, Feingold demonstrated his interest and concern for Wisconsin residents.
“For most of the rest of the year, I will be living at my home in Middleton, Wisconsin, from where I will travel the state extensively,” Feingold wrote. “I will listen carefully to my fellow Wisconsinites talk about their concerns, especially those involving their economic well-being.”
Russ Feingold - Friends, As I complete my final week at... | Facebook
Results of a Marquette University Law School poll conducted in October revealed Feingold slightly ahead of Johnson in favorability.
The poll numbers show Feingold up 6 percentage points against Johnson. Total numbers show Feingold was the favorite at 36 percent and Johnson at 30 percent. The poll indicated 33 percent of voters were still undecided.
Between 1993 and 2011, Russ Feingold represented Wisconsin in the United States Senate. Most recently, he worked as a Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In addition to working at the State Department, Feingold has been a visiting professor at Marquette University Law School since losing his re-election campaign in 2010.
Feingold said in the statement he plans to teach international relations at Stanford University for part of the upcoming year.
