Russ Feingold has just announced that he is seeking to regain the Wisconsin US Senate seat that he won in 1992 and lost in 2010 in that Republican wave election. I think he has a good chance to do so since Ron Johnson, the person who replaced him, seems vulnerable and the negative effects of Republican governor Scott Walker’s policies are likely to become highly manifest in 2016, hurting the Republican brand. Recent polls support that view.

Feingold’s re-entry is great news. He has been one of the most consistently progressive voices in Congress. He proved his mettle when he was the only person in the senate to vote against the ghastly USA PATRIOT Act that was passed in the wake of the insane patriotic fervor and desire for revenge that gripped the nation following the attacks of September 11, 2001, and that laid the groundwork for criminal wars abroad and highly repressive measures at home to be implemented.

Like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Feingold has been a consistently principled and independent voice, not afraid to be sometimes on the side of the tiny minority on a vote. The fact that he is an independent thinker means that I don’t always agree with him on particular stances, but I respect him. I also find that he is almost always on the correct side of issues.

I had hoped that he would run for president one day. His election loss in 2010 dimmed that hope but at least he did not spin through the infamous revolving door and become a Washington lobbyist. Instead he returned to Wisconsin and has worked as an academic at various universities.

You can go to his website for more information and to contribute. I have sent in a contribution to help him get off to a quick start.

Here is his announcement that he is running again.