U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., addressed a possible 2008 presidential bid Monday, saying the outcome of the U.S. Congressional elections in November could determine whether he runs.
According to George Aldrich — campaign spokesperson for Feingold's political action committee, Progressive Patriots Fund — Feingold was selected by the activist group MoveOn.org to speak at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia about restoring democracy.
Feingold's speech, according to Aldrich, focused on fair elections, campaign finance reform, civil liberties and government accountability but also addressed the significance of this year's elections.
"[Feingold] will be watching the Democratic candidates he's been supporting that talk about the same issues he's been talking about," Aldrich said.
Aldrich added November's outcome will bring considerable light to how favorably the American public views his stance on various issues.
"If they are not successful in November, then it gives him an indication that this may not be the time for him to consider [running for president]," he said. "But if the candidates are successful, it may be telling him these issues are something resonating with the public."
According to Aldrich, such issues include the positions that the war in Iraq was a mistake, that there should be legislation to create paper trails for every electronic voting machine and that big money unfairly influences elections.
Feingold, a U.S. senator since 1993, is best known for his progressive voting — including casting the sole vote against the U.S.A. Patriot Act — and for his co-sponsorship of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as the McCain-Feingold Bill.
Referring to Feingold's consideration of a presidential run, University of Wisconsin political science professor Charles Franklin said the announcement is part of a developing trend of earlier decisions for presidential candidacy.
"It used to be that candidates were not officially announcing [candidacy] until the fall of, in this case, 2007," he said. "But that's been moving back and back and back so that now we're just barely lasting until the previous midterm election."
Franklin added he foresees a majority of official candidacy announcements to be made about a month after the Nov. 7 election or in January of 2007.
With a number of Republican incumbent seats up for election this year, a Democratic shift in Congress could determine a more successful Democratic bid for president.
"If Republicans manage to do well this fall, despite it being the sixth year of unified Republican government, that would certainly be a signal whether Democrats are going to be that likely to take the White House in two years," Franklin said. "But two years is forever in politics."
