Could Russ Feingold win the nomination in 2016?

[Bull Moose Base]

.

[Ogre Mage]

Will "change" necessarily be what the Democratic Party is looking for in 2016?  If the Obama Administration has lost its way, maybe.  That would be particularly true if the Administration becomes embroiled in corruption, as Feingold stands out for having pristine ethics.  Otherwise, his candidacy strikes me as extremely unlikely.

Feingold has a reputation as an iconoclast in the Senate.  That's good in his willingness to speak truth to power.  But after all these years, he hasn't been very successful in cultivating alliances or persuading other senators.  Can someone who has always been such a loner really lead the party?  Like Howard Dean, I think there is a feeling that he doesn't work very well with others.  I doubt he would get establishment support unless his profile changes dramatically between now and 2016. 

I know some will say that Obama came out of nowhere and did it ...  but that was a very unusual event.  And from the little I've seen of him, Feingold doesn't have anywhere close to Obama's ability to work a crowd.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I'd probably support Feingold, but I don't see him winning the nomination.  He might have issues with being too liberal, and perhaps too old, but we'll see.

[hcallega]

He can't win because he's Jewish.


Thats a terrible oversimplification and is totally not true, but thats what Obama had to deal when he ran. He was able to overcome that, but I don't know if Feingold's got the stuff to fight back that issue. Also he's really liberal

[Vepres]

Well, he's very liberal, but he seems like a good guy and has lots of integrity. If the Obama administration either pursues policies that violate privacy to fight terror, or if Obama has a major scandal near the end of his administration, then yes.

[TeePee4Prez]

From what you said, Feingold is the ideal candidate for that election.  Most of the major states needed to win have large Jewish populations- PA, OH, MI, MN, and of course FL and I think there's a sizable portion in northern VA.  Jews maybe a small %, but enough to make a difference with a larger turnout.  He doesn't need NC to win an election and him being white helps in MO and could possibly move WV back to the Dem column.  The rest of the South he could write off and still win if he holds the core states otherwise. 

[Kaine for Senate '18]

There's no way Feingold wins WV.

[liberalkid]

as a supporter of the Green Party (and yes, i'm 13) i would be old enough by then to vote
let me say two things
although i'm not 100% liberal, probably more like 80%
Russ Feingold is probably one of the few Dems i could truely support 100%