Feingold Cruises Through Primary For U.S. Senate Seat, Beating Democratic Challenger

Former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold is one step closer in his bid to return to Washington, D.C. after easily winning Tuesday’s partisan primary.

Feingold beat fellow Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Scott Harbach, according to the Associated Press.

The Associated Press called the race at 8:45 p.m., 45 minutes after polls closed. Feingold won with about 90 percent of the votes. The former senator earned 303,282 votes compared to Harbach’s 33,105 votes, according to Associated Press vote totals.

Feingold will face incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and Libertarian Phil Anderson in the general election Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Harbach, a private investigator from Kenosha, ran a quiet campaign that created little name recognition against Feingold, of Middleton, who served in the Senate from 1993 to 2011, when he was unseated by Johnson.

A Marquette University Law School Poll from July showed Feingold with a 5 percent lead over Johnson among likely Wisconsin voters and 7 percent lead among registered voters.

Johnson ousted Feingold from office in 2010.