Tommy Thompson leads Feingold in Wisconsin Senate Race (If He Runs)

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who has sent signals that he might jump into the Senate race against Democrat Russ Feingold, leads Feingold in a general election matchup by 51 percent to 39 percent, with 9 percent undecided, according to a Wisconsin Policy Research Institute poll conducted March 7-9.

Matched against the Republican who is a declared candidate, real estate developer Terrence Wall, Feingold leads by 47 percent to 32 percent, with 20 percent undecided.

Feingold is seen favorably by 50 percent of voters and unfavorably by 39 percent, with 5 percent saying they never heard of him and 6 percent undecided. Thompson is regarded favorably by 57 percent and unfavorably by 32 percent, with 5 percent saying they never heard of him and 7 percent undecided. The most telling figure about Wall is that 61 percent never heard of him.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported earlier this month that Thompson, who was governor from 1987 to 2001 and also served in the cabinet of former President George W. Bush, was in "serious discussions with longtime GOP operatives about putting together a campaign plan and is attracting considerable attention from political donors who are pledging to help him finance a race."

WPRI's Ken Goldstein hedged the results showing Thompson with a big lead at this point, saying: "Hypothetical match-ups can change once a potential candidate officially enters the race. Thompson has been out of Wisconsin politics for almost 10 years and it will be interesting to see if his support and lead hold up once the back and forth of a campaign starts."

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