"The one other Wisconsin politician with numbers like Feingold�s in recent years was former GOP Gov. Tommy Thompson at the outset of his own 2012 Senate race."

"Like Feingold, Thompson had been out of partisan politics for several years, making him a less polarizing figure. Like Feingold, he scored well with independents and did unusually well with voters in the opposing party."

But in Thompson�s case, his popularity and crossover appeal didn�t survive the polarizing brawl of the 2012 election, which he lost to Baldwin.

�Thompson started at plus 18,� says [Marquette pollster Charles] Franklin, referring to the difference between his positive and negative rating. �But he finished at minus 14. It�s a powerful example of how a campaign can change a politician�s image with the voters in the state.�