Feingold banks $2.2M for Senate race

Former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) has raised more than $2.2 million in the tightly-contested bid to win back his seat from Sen. Ron Johnson, the campaign announced Tuesday.

The figure shows an impressive get for a challenger, even a former senator, and foreshadows a tough race in the Badger State. The Hill and many other publications have rated the Wisconsin race as one of the top Senate races to watch in 2016.

{mosads}Feingold lost his seat after three terms in office to Johnson, the Tea-Party backed businessman running his first bid for elected office. He donated more than $8 million of his own money to his campaign, but has said he won’t use personal funds for his reelection bid.

Johnson (R) has not yet announced his fundraising haul, as reports from the past quarter were due to the Federal Election Commission on Monday. While the figures will become public in a few weeks, some campaigns leak those figures in order to spur momentum. Johnson ended last quarter with $1,520,200 in cash on hand.

Because Feingold announced his bid in May, he only had about six weeks to raise money in the last quarter.

— This story was first posted on June 30 and has been updated.