Electoral Circumstances

Previous Election:

• The 2010 election was Ron Johnson's first election to get into Congress
• He defeated Russell Feingold (D) with 52% of the vote
• Feingold had been elected three times previously before the 2010 election
• According to USA Today "He raised $16.1 million for his 2010 race, more than $8.8 million of which came from his own pocket."

Upcoming 2016 Election:

Feingold vs Johnson: The Rematch? According to ballotpedia no one is currently listed as a possible opponent for the 2016 primary election but it does list Russ Feingold as a possible opponent in the general election. Johnson was able to out spend Feingold in the previous election due to spending quite a bit out of his own pockets but according to rollcall.com he won't be doing that again. Instead Johnson will take a different approach stating that, "I think I really can reach out around the country, kind of have a 50-state strategy in terms of fundraising, appealing to business people, appealing to people in the private sector." This may come back to bite him especially since National Journal lists his race as one of the seven Senate races to watch in 2016 and he may need to use every advantage he has at his disposal to retain his seat. Politico.com also points out that "there is a correlation between Senate and presidential elections in recent presidential cycles. In other words, the Senate result in a state has tended to be increasingly aligned with the state's presidential result." Considering the fact that Wisconsin went to President Barack Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 elections, this could be a bad sign for the current incumbent. 

Campaign Finances

According to rollcall, Johnson had just $606,000 in his campaign account at the end of last year and has a long way to go to match his previous campaign amount of $16.1 million. As stated previously, Johnson does not plan on financing his campaign out of his own pocket as he did during his last election and will instead depend on businesses and individuals contributing.

Possible issues for 2016 election

• Keystone pipeline
• Wages for American workers
• Immigration