Feingold sharpens focus on trade in Wisconsin Senate battle

by Jordain Carney - 08/04/16 9:34 AM ET

Former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) is homing in on trade policy in his battle to unseat Sen. Ron Johnson (R).

Feingold’s campaign is releasing a new TV ad Thursday, titled “1923,” that backs closing “corporate loopholes” that he suggests have led to automobile plants closing in Wisconsin.

{mosads}”Today too many good manufacturing jobs are shipped away because of a tax code that actually rewards companies for exporting jobs,” Feingold says in the ad, which was obtained by The Hill ahead of its release. “We don’t need an economy that works only for CEOs. We need an economy that works for everyone.”

Feingold’s campaign is expected to focus on issues including trade and college affordability in the race, which is a rematch of 2010. Johnson is one of 24 Senate incumbents Republicans are defending in November, including a handful in states previously carried by President Obama.

Feingold doesn’t specifically mention Johnson in the ad. However, his campaign knocked the senator in a release, saying he’s helped “send jobs overseas.”

“Senator Johnson has spent his time in Washington rewarding corporations that send jobs overseas by protecting tax loopholes, voting for every bad trade deal to cross his desk, and opposing the very idea of a federal minimum wage,” the campaign said.

The two have repeatedly fought over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Though Feingold opposes the agreement, Johnson isn’t expected to announce his position until after the election in November.

The TV spot, which is expected to run statewide, comes after the campaign hit Johnson in an ad Monday over remarks that that he will “win either way” in the election. Johnson has said he will be the “calmest person on election night” because he either wins reelection or gets to go back to Wisconsin.

The earlier ad also hit Johnson over $10 million he got from his company, PACUR, before joining the Senate. Feingold’s campaign argues the money is a “corporate payout,” but Johnson says it was compensation for taking a salary when he was running the company.

Feingold is currently leading Johnson by nearly 10 percentage points on average, according to RealClearPolitics.

Tags Ron Johnson