APPLETON, Wis. – Outagamie County Executive and pro-labor populist U.S. Senate candidate Tom Nelson is drawing attention for his underdog progressive campaign with Wisconsin insiders noting it’s still a wide open race and that Nelson’s broad coalition and sharp message can set him apart.

John Nichols of The Capital Times noted Nelson setting himself apart on issues such as his Line 5:

“Nelson appeared in Madison’s Tenney Park with a crowd of mostly young Sunrise Movement activists who celebrated the former legislator for opposing the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline and supporting the Green New Deal. The next day, Nelson received the endorsement of Our Wisconsin Revolution, the organization of supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders and their allies, which is active statewide. Along with the labor union endorsements Nelson has collected, the OWR endorsement suggests he is piecing together the sort of organization that a candidate who lacks a big bank account needs in a crowded primary.”

Link to full piece: “Opinion | Who’s winning the Democratic Senate Contest?”

Dave Cieslewicz noted in local Madison paper Isthmus the race was still wide open:

Meanwhile, Nelson got some very positive Russ Feingold-like buzz last week from The Washington Post (headline: “Wisconsin’s Tom Nelson Reminds Democrats How Populists Should Sound”). If he can start to get that same kind of story in more prestigious papers like the Stevens Point Journal, he’ll have plenty of fodder for his own ads once he starts running them.

The bottom line is that this race is still wide open. Any of the four top candidates has a shot, and every Democrat I talk to says the same thing: They just want a candidate who can beat Ron Johnson. So, expect the candidates to tout their RoJo killing cred — and to attack one another on their unelectability — as the campaign heats up before the August primary.

Link to full piece: “Senate race still wide open”

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