Former Rep. Mark Neumann (R-WI) officially launched his campaign for U.S. Senate Monday, setting up a likely Republican primary against the more moderate former Gov. Tommy Thompson.
Neumann announced his campaign in an interview with conservative talk radio host Charlie Sykes, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Neumann’s likely opponent Thompson has been gearing up for the race, and has already been attacked by the conservative group the Club For Growth.
Some of Neumann’s former aides now work at the Club For Growth, though Neumann said in the interview that he would not have any control over what the group does. “They support conservative candidates. We hope they’ll support us,” Neumann said of the Club. And regarding his former staffers, he said: “They are conservative people and they are dedicated to reducing wasteful spending.”
Neumann served two terms in the House, from 1995-1998. He ran for the Senate in 1998, losing by two points against then-incumbent Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold. He ran for governor in 2010, losing the Republican primary by 20 points to the establishment favorite Scott Walker.
On the other side of the ballot, Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin is likely to soon announce her campaign, with other Democrats such as Rep. Ron Kind and former Rep. Steve Kagen also reportedly eyeing the race. Last week, former Sen. Russ Feingold, who lost his seat in the 2010 Republican wave, announced that he would not be a candidate for public office in 2012, either for the Senate or in a potential gubernatorial recall.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.