Earlier today, I noted commerce secretary Dick Leinenkugel was resigning his position, and I noted it was clear Leinenkugel had his eyes on running for elected office. While I believed at the time Leinenkugel was preparing to run for governor, multiple sources are reporting Leinenkugel is actually planning on running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Russ Feingold.
If the speculation is correct and Dick Leinenkugel is going to run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican, I can’t help but wonder what kind of reception he’ll get from the conservative base of the Republican Party. After all, Leinenkugel spent the last 18 months working for a Democratic governor who’s almost universally hated by Republicans in Wisconsin, a fact that surely won’t win Leinenkugel many fans among the Republican faithful. Perhaps Leinenkugel is going to campaign as the “moderate Republican” candidate – a role that would have been filled by Tommy Thompson – but if that’s the role he’s going to look to fill, something tells me Dick Leinenkugel isn’t likely to find much support among a Republican Party that’s lurched to the right in recent years. There’s not much room for moderates in the Wisconsin GOP, so all that’s left is for Leinenkugel to wholeheartedly embrace the far-right “Tea Party” movement, who I’m sure will be more than a little skeptical of the former commerce secretary in a Democratic administration in Madison.
One of the already announced candidates, Madison multi-millionaire Terrence Wall, came out swinging against Leinenkugel in a press release issued today, noting Leinenkugel has questions to answer regarding his time as Wisconsin’s commerce secretary, including questions on job losses during his tenure, as well as his role in bringing Spanish train manufacturer Talgo to Wisconsin. Wall’s campaign, which has been largely focused on negative attacks since he formally announced his candidacy, is sure to keep up the drumbeat regarding Leinenkugel’s record as commerce secretary as well as his ties to the administration of Democratic governor Jim Doyle.
Xoff over at Uppity Wisconsin thinks if Leinenkugel’s in, then Tommy Thompson’s out, but Thompson ally Bill McCoshen was quick to point out that Leinenkugel’s decision won’t affect Thompson’s decision. I’m inclined to believe Dick Leinenkugel’s entry into this race is no happy coincidence, and I’m betting we won’t be seeing one final statewide run from Tommy Thompson.
Jason Haas and Pretty Important Politics have more on this story.
You’re just horrifically bad at guessing the strategies and motives of Republicans so I don’t know why you bother. Yes, being tagged as a Doyle appointee will certainly be a something he’ll have to answer to. Of course you’re understating Doyle’s unpopularity. He’s not just universally hated by Republicans, he’s barely supported by anyone else but apologists. I’ve heard Sly repeatedly call him a crook and worse. I’ve heard you say you don’t care for him (though I’d suspect you’d still toe the party line if it actually came to it).
But if you think Republicans will have an hesitation at all before checking off his name over Russ Feingold, you’ve just not been paying attention. Though certainly not as popular as Tommy, he is a more credible candidate than the others. Westlake doesn’t have the money, and Wall doesn’t have anything but money. I’ve said before, that as much as I disagree with Feingold on most issues, I respect him and appreciate that he’s stood virtually alone on some things I consider “fighting the good fight.” But I’m an odd duck – every conservative and/or Republican and the majority of the middle think he’s the most liberal politician in America. That’s going to be a bad tag to have this November and there’s going to be one heck of a lot of “anyone but Russ” voters.
Feingold is in for a very tough fight – my guess is it’ll be within 1% either way. Of course Feingold is a seasoned politician and capable of running a good campaign. Whether the state Republicans and Leinenkugel (or whoever gets the Republican nomination) are capable of competing with the grownups remains to be seen.
I don’t doubt Republicans won’t hesitate to choose Leinenkugel or any of the other Republican candidates over Feingold, but my point was that Leinenkugel’s going to have a hard time convincing voters in the Republican primary to check off his name on the ballot.
Never underestimate the power of such a natural draw. Not quite as Arnold Schwarzenegger was on the California gubernatorial recall ballot, but it’s right up there.
It’s absolutely stupid, but don’t underestimate name recognition either. I mean, it got Eddie Murphy into Congress. 😉
Locke – It’s not just about checking off any name but Russ … to beat Russ, he’ll need money and an army of door-knockers and envelope-stuffers. His association with Doyle might keep some money and volunteers away.