Is Russ Feingold in Trouble?

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As if the Democrats’ hopes for hanging on to the Senate in 2010 weren’t bad enough, a new Rassmussen poll in Wisconsin suggests that liberal icon Sen. Russell Feingold could lose his seat in the fall. Feingold is most famous for serving co-author of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill that tried to limit the influence of money in politics (a law that has now been nearly shredded by the Supreme Court.) His good-government creds have made him a popular figure, at least outside of Wisconsin. But in his home state, he may have some work to do if he wants a fourth term.

Rassmussen’s poll was based on a hypothetical race between Feingold and Tommy Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor and Health and Human Services secretary during the last Bush administration. Republicans are urging Thompson to challenge Feingold, but he hasn’t decided yet. If he does, his odds right now look pretty good. Poll numbers suggest that Thompson would rout Feingold, with 47 percent of the vote, compared with Feingold’s 43 percent. The news is particularly bad for dems because until now, Feingold has never been on anyone’s watch list. His seat was supposed to be a safe one.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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