Ron Johnson wins 2nd term in U.S. Senate

MADISON, Wis. — Senator Ron Johnson has kept his seat after a very close race with Russ Feingold for the U.S. Senate.

Johnson was elected to his first term in the U.S. Senate in 2010 after taking the seat from Feingold.

Buoyed by an influx of outside spending, and Trump outspending Clinton on TV in the state, Johnson suddenly found himself down by just 1 point, according to the last Marquette University poll. Still, both sides acknowledged that Feingold was the favorite heading into Election Day, especially given that no GOP candidate has won a Wisconsin Senate seat in a presidential year since 1980.

Both candidates offer sharply different views on how to control college costs, with Feingold advocating for lowering interest rates on student loans and Johnson pushing for more fundamental changes to higher education.

During a debate between the two candidates last month, Feingold accused Johnson of not doing enough as senator to tackle issues such as fighting terrorism, immigration reform and campaign finance laws.

Johnson said as a businessman he is more in touch with what Wisconsin residents want, while Feingold is a career politician who thinks problems can be solved with more government programs.