wisconsin sen. ron johnson <u+2019>s re-election fortunes may be improving. first elected in a 2010 gop wave, mr. johnson had been considered one of the most vulnerable republicans this election cycle. over the summer, he was the only at-risk gop incumbent in the senate who was performing worse than presidential nominee donald trump in his own state. now, republican groups are injecting millions of dollars into the race at the last minute, hoping to hang on to a seat they no longer see as a lost cause. democratic challenger russ feingold, who was once so far ahead of mr. johnson in polls that independent political analysts said his victory was a foregone conclusion, suddenly finds himself in need of outside support. <u+201c>it looks closer,<u+201d> said jennifer duffy, who tracks senate races for the nonpartisan cook political report. she said she still thinks mr. feingold has a slight edge, but on wednesday changed her rating of the race to a <u+201c>tossup.<u+201d> the shift came into view in early october when a trio of polls put mr. johnson within striking distance or ahead of mr. feingold. then on wednesday, a survey from the marquette law school found the two in a virtual dead heat, with 45% of likely voters supporting mr. feingold and 44% supporting the incumbent. one factor in mr. johnson<u+2019>s improving numbers may be ads he started running several weeks ago that cast him as a problem-solver focused on his constituents. <u+201c>their positive ads in particular remind me of his 2010 ads that made him an appealing character,<u+201d> said charles franklin, director of the marquette poll. one advertisement unfolds from the perspective of people who obtained jobs as a result of a program backed by mr. johnson to help milwaukee residents develop basic job skills like teamwork. another focuses on a couple from green bay, wis., who said that mr. johnson intervened to help bring their adopted daughter home from the democratic republic of the congo. <u+201c>he was going to do whatever he could to get these kids home,<u+201d> the mother says. mr. johnson earlier had called mr. trump<u+2019>s remarks in an 11-year-old video about groping women <u+201c>indefensible.<u+201d> but he campaigned tuesday in eau claire with mr. trump, who lost the gop primary in the state to texas sen. ted cruz, even repeating the nominee<u+2019>s calls to <u+201c>drain the swamp.<u+201d> in july, the ad-purchasing firm medium buying llc said freedom partners, an outside group, had canceled more than $2.2 million of television advertising on behalf of mr. johnson that was due to begin running in august. the national republican senatorial committee said at the same time it had delayed a television advertising campaign for mr. johnson that was to begin in august. one of the few groups that stuck with mr. johnson was the conservative club for growth. last month, the group spent more than $750,000 for ads that paint mr. feingold, a former senator, as an insider who increased taxes when he was in congress. it urged other republican groups to spend as well. now, other republican groups are piling in. americans for prosperity, the koch network<u+2019>s nonprofit arm that doesn<u+2019>t disclose its donors, is spending $950,000 in the final week of the campaign on advertising. the senate leadership fund, run by allies of senate majority leader mitch mcconnell (r., ky.), on monday announced plans to spend $2 million in the race. senate majority pac, run by allies of senate minority leader harry reid (d., nev.), and a fund affiliated with the league of conservation voters announced plans to spend $2 million to attack mr. johnson as beholden to wall street. in the meantime, the feingold campaign sees the surge in republican attack ads as a sign of desperation. republican billionaires <u+201c>are making one last desperate attempt to bail out sen. johnson<u+2019>s failing campaign in the only way they know how<u+2026>with millions in attack ads,<u+201d> mr. feingold<u+2019>s campaign manager wrote in a memo. write to siobhan hughes at siobhan.hughes@wsj.com
senate race in wisconsin tightens - wsj
siobhan hughes