Feingold, Baldwin the Dem choices in Wisconsin

Russ Feingold will probably be able to clear the Democratic field for Senate in Wisconsin if he wants to run again. If he doesn't Tammy Baldwin is the first choice of Democratic voters in the state to replace Herb Kohl.

70% of Wisconsin Democrats say Feingold would be their top choice as a candidate to 12% for Tammy Baldwin, 5% for Jon Erpenbach, 4% for Ron Kind, 3% for Steve Kagen, 2% for Gwen Moore, and 1% each for Kathleen Falk and Barbara Lawton. There's really not much else to say about that. Feingold wants the nomination, it's his.

The numbers about who people want if Feingold is taken out of the mix are more interesting. Then Baldwin leads with 30% to 17% for Kagen, 16% for Kind, 13% for Erpenbach, 6% for Moore, 4% for Falk, and 3% for Lawton.

What's interesting about the preference for Baldwin is that it comes from across the ideological spectrum. She is strongest with voters calling themselves 'very liberal,' garnering 45% to 18% for Erpenbach and 14% for Kind. But she's also up with 'somewhat liberal' ones at 32% to 16% for Kagen, 15% for Kind, and 14% for Erpenbach and even by a narrow margin with moderates where she gets 23% to 22% for Kagen, 16% for Kind, and 11% for Erpenbach. There's been a lot of question about whether she's a viable candidates with folks beyond the far left and these numbers would seem to suggest the answer is yes. Baldwin will start out as the favorite if Feingold doesn't run.

Full results here