Feingold Loses, Vows "On to the next battle in 2012"

Sen. Russ Feingold (AP File)

A businessman who's never held public office before will now be a U.S. Senator for Wisconsin.  Republican Ron Johnson surprised many by defeating three-term incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold.

Hundreds of supporters, some of them in tears, packed a conference room in Madison at the end of a long Election Day.  They waited for hours to hear Feingold speak on stage, once it appeared defeat was inevitable.  Rather than a man making a downtrodden concession speech, the senator sounded more like a coach rallying his team for the big game.  First he quoted Bob Dylan, then Feingold raised his fist in the air and yelled "On to the next fight! On to the next battle in 2012," while the crowd screamed "Russ, Russ, Russ" as he left the stage.

An emotional close friend and campaign advisor to Feingold, John Sylvester, touted the victories the Senator has had throughout his career, but said he wasn't completely surprised by the loss "The economy's bad, people are looking for answers.  When you're part of the incumbent party, that happens sometimes."   When asked what Feingold meant when he mentioned "the next battle in 2012" Sylvester said "He hasn't made up his mind yet" on what he'll do next.