Polling has shown Republican Tommy Thompson with a lead over Democrat Tammy Baldwin in the U.S. Senate race for months. Even before Thompson won the GOP primary he was favored to beat Baldwin.
But some of the most recent polls (including an internal poll conducted for the Baldwin campaign) show Thompson trailing.
There could be a number of reasons for that, including Baldwin’s early attacks on Thompson. Baldwin has been very aggressive on the airwaves, going after the former 4-term Governor for his time as a political consultant in Washington D.C. Baldwin has also been more visible around the state, appearing at a number of events, while Thompson has had fewer public rallies. Finally, there is the Obama factor. Most pundits agree Baldwin is highly unlikely to win if President Obama does not win Wisconsin. Obama received a nice bump in the polls after the Democratic convention, and that could be helping Baldwin as well.
But don’t expect Thompson to stay quiet and hidden through November. Just recently GOP Crossroads, the conservative group run by Karl Rove announced a major ad buy in Wisconsin supporting Thompson. And Thompson is in Milwaukee today, touring a factory.
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