Groups To Push $15 Minimum Wage As Campaign Issue In Senate Race

A coalition of Democratic groups plans to push a $15 federal minimum wage as a campaign issue in Wisconsin and other states with key U.S. Senate races.

While it’s hardly a new issue for Democrats, Peter Rickman, who co-chairs the Wisconsin Working Families Party, said it’s being embraced by voters this year in a way he hasn’t seen before.

“Without fail, it’s the most resonant thing that we bring up on the doors with people,” Rickman said. “More than I’ve ever seen in the past.”

The Democratic firm Public Policy Polling surveyed Wisconsin voters and found that 63 percent favor raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Fifty-six percent said they were less likely to support a candidate who opposed raising the minimum wage.

In Wisconsin’s Senate race, Democrat Russ Feingold favors a $15 minimum wage. Republican incumbent Ron Johnson opposes it, arguing that such a move would decrease the number of jobs available to people looking to work their way up the economic ladder.