Former Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold will try to reclaim his seat in 2016

Progressive Democrat and former Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold announced today that he plans to run for Senate in 2016, likely setting up a rematch with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who defeated him for the seat six years ago. A recent poll identified Johnson as one of the most vulnerable sitting GOP senators.

In his announcement video, Feingold lays out a strong progressive message. "People tell me all the time that our politics and Washington are broken. And that multi-millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations are calling the shots," Feingold says. "They especially say this about the U.S. Senate, and it's hard not to agree.... Instead, let's fight together for change. That means helping to bring back to the U.S. Senate strong independence, bipartisanship and honesty."

Watch the announcement in full below. —Samantha Rollins

Article continues below

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.