Even in a year when voters appear eager to toss out incumbents, the Wisconsin Senate race has been a surprise. Democrat Russ Feingold, a lawyer who has held the seat for nearly 18 years, has lagged behind in the polls for the past three months and now seems poised to lose to little-known Republican entrepreneur Ron Johnson.
Johnson, who owns and operates a multimillion-dollar plastics company, has managed to sell himself to voters as a successful, hard-working business owner who decided to “get off my rear end” and do something about “politicians” hurting the economy and putting the nation in more debt.
It’s a message that resonates in Wisconsin and in other states as well, where corporate CEOs — an increasing number of whom are women — have turned long-shot challenges to incumbents and career politicians into competitive races.
In California, West Virginia, Connecticut, Florida, Washington and New York, Republicans have shaken up races dominated by talk of the economy and jobs by running on their business records. And many of them are rich enough to finance formidable campaigns, including three female executives — former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and former Hewlett-Packard head Carly Fiorina in California, and Linda McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, in Connecticut.
“It is hard to dispute the fact that the economy and jobs are the most important issues in this election,” said Anita McBride, a former assistant to President George W. Bush. “I think voters recognize that some qualified business owners who understand a bottom line can possibly bring some common-sense thinking to the business of government.”
In Wisconsin, where the unemployment rate hovers around 8 percent, Feingold is losing voters who say they are disappointed with Democrats’ handling of the economy.
“We need to get people back in Washington who understand economics,” said Kent Walters, of Wausau, whose company builds wooden pallets. “I’m a business owner, and what I’m getting from a lot of people is that they are just tired of the fact that most of the people running for office are lawyers.”
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin isn’t a lawyer, but voters say they are skeptical about sending him to Washington despite the high marks they give him for running the state. After winning re-election with 70 percent of the vote, Manchin appeared to be a shoo-in for the Senate seat. Yet, he’s just catching up with Republican businessman John Raese.
Raese owns the state’s largest limestone company and describes himself in a campaign ad as “a businessman who has created thousands of jobs but not bigger government.”
Most polls show Raese neck and neck with Manchin, who has been forced to distance himself from the Obama administration to save his campaign.
“The issues this year are the economy, debt and spending, and people in private industry always say they know how to run a business and balance a checkbook,” University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato said. “The conditions this year nicely lend themselves to that.”
In California, Whitman and Fiorina used their business success and wealth to start credible campaigns for governor and the Senate, respectively. McMahon is using her money to fund a run for the Senate in Connecticut. All three have slipped in the polls and are now trailing longtime Democratic politicians.
