Feingold actively considering comeback bid.

[RandySF]

WASHINGTON -- Russ Feingold has been reaching out to supporters in recent weeks to discuss a 2016 Senate bid to retake his old seat from Republican Ron Johnson, sources with knowledge of the calls told The Huffington Post.

The progressive Wisconsin Democrat was wiped out of the Senate in the tea party wave of 2010, but since then, many supporters have been keeping their fingers crossed that he'd run again -- in a presidential election year likely to be more favorable to Democrats.

Multiple sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told HuffPost that in recent months, Feingold has talked to Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), among others.

Feingold will step down in March from his position as the State Department's special envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, the sources indicated, and can't make an announcement before that.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/26/russ-feingold-_n_6761946.html

[Marie Marie]

1. Great News - would love to see him back in the Senate.

He is a class act.

[cascadiance]

4. If not the senate, he should replace DWS leading the DNC!

[Marie Marie]

5. I would be OK with that too.

[calimary]

19. I'd be okay with either of these - Feingold in the Senate or as DNC Chair.

DEBBIE has been abysmal. HORRENDOUS. Total fail. I don't give her anything for 2012. But I DO note who was in charge in 2010 AND this last round last November - when Dems did HORRIBLY. And she was in charge. Can't get rid of her soon enough.

Feingold - or bring back Howard DEAN. But it'd be nice, and sweet revenge, to have him get his Senate seat back from that useless GOP squatter.

Frankly, it'd be awfully nice to get Wisconsin back from scott walker.

[cascadiance]

20. I'd remembered wanting him to challenge Walker for governor in the recall race!

If he had, I think we would have had Governor Feingold instead of Governor Walker and perhaps dealt a big blow towards Walker's ambitions to run in 2016 for the big office too.

But yes, first and foremost, I'd like to see him now back in the Senate. It's too bad we couldn't have a clone of him as DNC chair.

It would be good to get Howard Dean back too though as DNC chair if not someone like Feingold. But I would hope that, given some recent quotes of his that Dean would let a decent nomination process for 2016 happen and not try to push Hillary Clinton as our nominee without a decent debate that is needed within our party to ensure that our nominee deals with issues that most 99%er Americans care about. We need a nominee that Democrats and perhaps many independents and Republicans too will be able to trust as not being an agent of the 1% lobbyists. Dean has been spot on in many of his other public comments though, so I'd like to think he'd want to put in a process like that.

[hrmjustin]

2. Would love to see him back.

[BlueCaliDem]

26. Me, too. We need more Liberal Senators in the Senate. I would love to see

him back in the Senate, right where he belongs. I'm still completely baffled by the 2010 elections that Wisconsinites would even consider voting in a RWer like Ron Johnson as their Senator.

[Ilsa]

3. I hope he's in! nt

[billhicks76]

6. He's The Best We Ever Had

Our system is bought and paid for and it's the only reason he's not President.

[midnight]

7. kick

[PedXing]

8. I'd rather see him run for President.

[dissentient]

9. +1000.

[Ed Suspicious]

10. He's a great senator, he's not such a great campaigner. I don't think he would come out on top in a

presidential bid, but it would be awesome.

[PedXing]

22. How unfortunate. He seems eloquent, but I've only seen him in the context of Senator.

[Ed Suspicious]

28. His elections are always close. I don't know

what it is, but he just doesn't put his opponents away during election for some reason. I worked knocking on doors during his last campaign. I was devastated that "Sunspots" Johnson supplanted him.

http://m.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/100814454.html

[PedXing]

33. I suppose he prefers actual governing rather than the pagent show that gets you in.

[ReRe]

11. Rec, rec, rec, rec, rec, rec...

I so hope he runs and is elected to the Senate again. Go Russ!

[lobodons]

12. Would make an interesting VP pick

Sure would help Hillary shore up the left with Feingold on the ticket. Clinton/Feingold 2016

[kelliekat44]

14. Was thinking the same thing. nt

[PedXing]

23. Intruguing idea.

[sheshe2]

13. KnR!

[sabrina 1]

15. Wow, I just mentioned him in another thread as a possible candidate for the WH. I always

respected Feingold and was so sorry to see him go.

We NEED him in the Senate, he is definitely someone I could get enthusiastic about.

[ailsagirl]

16. K & R

[Lifelong Protester]

17. Geez, I sure hope so

We need some GOOD news here.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

18. He'd be a great asset

whatever office he ran for. I've also always thought he'd be an awesome Supreme Court justice.

[LWolf]

21. I'd love to see him back in the Senate, but...

I'd love it even more if he'd run in the upcoming Democratic primaries for president.

[PedXing]

25. Yes!

[HereSince1628]

32. Tne progressive pac he started is hosting promotional material for Bernie Sanders

I don't know if that would preclude a Feingold run but it doesn't favor it.

[LWolf]

34. I like Sanders, too.

Which do you think would be more "electable" on a national level?

[Zorra]

24. K&R

[BlueCaliDem]

27. An enthusiastic KICK and REC!

[oxymoron]

29. K&R

[hifiguy]

30. K&R

Russ Feingold is one of the good guys.

[Scuba]

31. Russ, you can count on me for support - lotsa time and a little money. Please run, please.