MADISON (AP) - Republicans pounced on reports Monday that the political action committee founded by former Democratic U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold spent only 5 percent of its income on federal candidates and political parties. Feingold, who is running to return to the Senate, defended the group's work and labeled GOP criticism as the first attack of the 2016 race.
Feingold, who was defeated by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson in 2010, announced last month that he is seeking a rematch in 2016. The race is being closely watched nationally as Democrats try to regain control of the Senate.
Feingold was a leader on campaign finance reform during his 18 years in the Senate. In 2011, after his defeat, he formed the Progressives United PAC with the goal of "directly and indirectly supporting candidates who stand up for our progressive ideals."
Campaign finance documents first reported on Monday by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and later posted online by the Wisconsin Republican Party, show that nearly half of the $7.1 million Progressives United PAC spent since being formed in 2011 has gone to raising more money for itself.
Only $352,008 went to federal candidates and political parties since 2011. It spent more than $1.2 million on salaries and $1.3 million on fundraising efforts. Federal election records show that Feingold and nine of his former campaign and U.S. Senate staff members were paid salaries or consulting fees by the PAC or the nonprofit Progressives United Inc.
Feingold received $77,000 from the two groups, which raised and spent $10 million over the past four years.
The former senator defended how Progressives United spent its money, saying it took a lot of work to organize and maintain a database of 700,000 supporters. Feingold's campaign also said that unlike most PACs, Progressives United worked to encourage its supporters to directly donate to candidates, rather than funnel it through the group itself.
"This attack is straight out of the Republican Party HQ, and as usual it gets almost everything wrong," said Feingold's campaign manager Tom Russell. "It ignores work of hundreds of thousands of grassroots members and expects Progressives United to have operated like an old-school corporate PAC that existed before the advent of email."
Feingold sent an email, and fundraising plea, to his supporters on Monday with the subject line "Their first attack." He cited Progressives United's advocacy for campaign finance reform, Internet neutrality and expanding Social Security. He said Republicans are attacking its work "because it undermines their power when people like you have a voice."
Johnson issued a statement calling Feingold a hypocrite who "has become the very thing he used to despise."
"Senator Feingold has become just like every other career politician in Washington, saying one thing while doing another," Johnson said. "He uses a dark money slush fund to pay his political expenses and even pay himself, all while railing against that exact same kind of dark money."
Feingold on Friday had proposed a pledge to keep third-party money out of the Senate race. Under the proposal, the beneficiary of any ads paid for by outside groups would have to donate half of the cost to a charity chosen by the other candidate.
Johnson has not said whether he will sign the pledge, which is modeled after one used in the 2012 Senate race in Massachusetts between Republican Scott Brown and Democrat Elizabeth Warren, who won the seat.
"Before Senator Feingold worries about any other outside money, he needs to worry about his own issues and explain to Wisconsinites why he was hiding his political expenses in his own dark money group," Johnson's spokeswoman Betsy Ankney said Monday.
Johnson spent $8.8 million of his own money in winning election in 2010, a race that outside groups largely sat out. Shortly after being sworn in, Johnson's plastics company paid him $10 million in deferred compensation.
Feingold, who was defeated by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson in 2010, announced last month that he is seeking a rematch in 2016. The race is being closely watched nationally as Democrats try to regain control of the Senate.
Feingold was a leader on campaign finance reform during his 18 years in the Senate. In 2011, after his defeat, he formed the Progressives United PAC with the goal of "directly and indirectly supporting candidates who stand up for our progressive ideals."
Campaign finance documents first reported on Monday by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and later posted online by the Wisconsin Republican Party, show that nearly half of the $7.1 million Progressives United PAC spent since being formed in 2011 has gone to raising more money for itself.
Only $352,008 went to federal candidates and political parties since 2011. It spent more than $1.2 million on salaries and $1.3 million on fundraising efforts. Federal election records show that Feingold and nine of his former campaign and U.S. Senate staff members were paid salaries or consulting fees by the PAC or the nonprofit Progressives United Inc.
Feingold received $77,000 from the two groups, which raised and spent $10 million over the past four years.
The former senator defended how Progressives United spent its money, saying it took a lot of work to organize and maintain a database of 700,000 supporters. Feingold's campaign also said that unlike most PACs, Progressives United worked to encourage its supporters to directly donate to candidates, rather than funnel it through the group itself.
"This attack is straight out of the Republican Party HQ, and as usual it gets almost everything wrong," said Feingold's campaign manager Tom Russell. "It ignores work of hundreds of thousands of grassroots members and expects Progressives United to have operated like an old-school corporate PAC that existed before the advent of email."
Feingold sent an email, and fundraising plea, to his supporters on Monday with the subject line "Their first attack." He cited Progressives United's advocacy for campaign finance reform, Internet neutrality and expanding Social Security. He said Republicans are attacking its work "because it undermines their power when people like you have a voice."
Johnson issued a statement calling Feingold a hypocrite who "has become the very thing he used to despise."
"Senator Feingold has become just like every other career politician in Washington, saying one thing while doing another," Johnson said. "He uses a dark money slush fund to pay his political expenses and even pay himself, all while railing against that exact same kind of dark money."
Feingold on Friday had proposed a pledge to keep third-party money out of the Senate race. Under the proposal, the beneficiary of any ads paid for by outside groups would have to donate half of the cost to a charity chosen by the other candidate.
Johnson has not said whether he will sign the pledge, which is modeled after one used in the 2012 Senate race in Massachusetts between Republican Scott Brown and Democrat Elizabeth Warren, who won the seat.
"Before Senator Feingold worries about any other outside money, he needs to worry about his own issues and explain to Wisconsinites why he was hiding his political expenses in his own dark money group," Johnson's spokeswoman Betsy Ankney said Monday.
Johnson spent $8.8 million of his own money in winning election in 2010, a race that outside groups largely sat out. Shortly after being sworn in, Johnson's plastics company paid him $10 million in deferred compensation.