Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Russ Feingold continued to push for early voting Thursday in Madison as he leads incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson by just one point, according to the latest Marquette University Law School Poll.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is leading her Republican rival Donald Trump by 6 points among likely voters in Wisconsin, according to poll numbers released Wednesday by Marquette University. But Feingold is only leading his GOP opponent by 1 point.
In Madison on Thursday, Feingold said he believes the Senate race is tighter because of the unpopularity of Trump with some Republican voters.
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“Well, it’s obvious that a number of people are simply refusing to vote for Donald Trump,” Feingold said. “I have the same number of votes as Hillary Clinton, so that’s not the issue. It’s simply that some people will not vote for Donald Trump. I also think a number of people are not going to vote for Sen. Johnson because he’s supporting Donald Trump for president.”
Johnson made his first campaign appearance with Trump on Tuesday in Eau Claire.
Feingold said he’s optimistic about the outcome of the election next week, but he continued to push for Democrats to vote early.
“One of the only things that Sen. Johnson and I have agreed on is this would be a very close race, and that’s exactly what it is,” he said. “But I believe we are in a better position to win because people are voting, and the more people that vote, the better chance I have to win.”
According to the latest numbers from the state Elections Commission, more than a half million Wisconsin residents have voted early. Turnout in the Democratic strongholds of Dane and Milwaukee counties has been particularly strong.
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