Tommy Thompson Has Big Lead Over Feingold in New Poll

Former Gov. Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, who is said to be edging closer toward a race against Sen. Russ Feingold, leads the Democratic incumbent in a match-up by 45 percent to 33 percent, with 14 percent preferring an independent or third-party candidate and 7 percent undecided, according to a St. Norbert College Survey Center poll conducted March 23-31.

The conservative Weekly Standard reported in late March that Thompson "has spent the past several weeks taking the steps any candidate must take in order to run for office -- he's evaluating staff, he's talking to fundraisers, and he's separating himself from his business interests."

Thompson has said chances of him getting into the race are "50-50" and that he would decide before the state's GOP convention, which is May 20.

Other polls have produced different results. A Daily Kos/Research 2000 survey conducted March 22-24 had Thompson's lead over Feingold at 48 percent to 44 percent. Two other recent surveys -- Public Policy Polling and Rasmussen Reports -- have shown the race to be close, with Feingold ahead in one and Thompson in the other, but both by amounts within the margins of error. One March poll that agreed with the St. Norbert result was from Wisconsin Policy Research poll, which had Thompson ahead by 12 points.

When Feingold was matched against a generic Republican challenger in the St. Norbert poll, he led by only 40 percent to 37 percent, with 12 percent preferring an independent or third-party candidate and 10 percent undecided. The margin of error is 5 points. Other pollsters, who tested Feingold against specific announced Republican candidates other than Thompson, had Feingold ahead of them by double-digit margins.

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