Yes, 2016 is going to be a busy year in politics. The presidential election will no doubt have most everyone’s attention. Hillary or Bernie (#FeelTheBern is great) will be running against an individual form the slew of Republicans currently vying for the nomination.

But, maybe even more important for Wisconsin will be the election for U.S. Senator. Russ Feingold. Yes, that Russ Feingold who was Senator for like 100 years, will be running against incumbent Senator Ron Johnson.

Now, if I know how the College Democrats will write their article (which I think I do because we are friendly with each other!), they’ll tell you everything about how Feingold should be canonized as a saint for being the greatest thing to politics since sliced bread. And how Johnson is a greedy businessman who wants nothing more than to make sure more people struggle to survive.

This election will be about two stark differences in a representative for our state.

Feingold is a has-been. A politician who, when not lecturing students at Stanford, is lecturing the people of Wisconsin about his theory of our country. His theory of the United States is a country where the First Amendment doesn’t apply to everybody, where Obama’s agenda of a sluggish economic comeback and an apologist foreign policy approach, make perfect sense.

Johnson, on the other hand, is exactly the kind of representative our founding father’s envisioned when they declared independence (Happy late July 4th!) from a British government full of people who told them they knew best how they should live their lives.

Johnson isn’t a career politician who became a lawyer to lecture the American people about what way of living is better. He isn’t an ideologue who tethers himself to an issue that was deemed UNCONSTITUTIONAL by the Supreme Court – that issue being the freedom of people to express their speech. He isn’t a hypocrite who, like Feingold, preaches to the American people about the evil influence of money in politics, raises money in a PAC that goes to pay himself, his staff and for his apartment. Meanwhile, he sips coffee on the beach; reading his leather bound books.

I know it sounds like something out of Anchorman – “I’m very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany” – but it’s the reality of Feingold’s life.

Johnson is literally, figuratively, factually and actually the polar opposite. He started his career problem solving in the private sector. Now, I’ve never owned a business or tried to start one – but managing my finances, as an individual, is hard enough.

Putting everything on the line in a business sounds like quite the undertaking. And that’s exactly what Johnson has done in the private sector.

He started a plastics business with his brother-in-law, working to create the epitome of the American Dream. Johnson gained experience and learned problem solving. It was through this hard work and dedication to his business that he learned what only America’s freedom can inspire out of people. And it was this freedom he saw under attack when he decided to run, mind you, never holding any other public office, for Senate in 2010.

Johnson ran as a citizen legislator, promising to tell the truth and fight for what makes America what it is – the freedom for individuals to pursue what they see best for themselves.

For the last five plus years, he has done this and more. Presently, he serves as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. In this position, Johnson drew attention to issues ranging from combatting ISIS to making sure the government fills important positions, such as those that provide government oversight.

I’m sure the College Republicans will write more articles detailing more specifics to this race, but let this first article point you to the major theme in this election – completely different people running for a completely different future.

Feingold is exactly what our founders held disdain for when then declared independence from Great Britain – elitist, educated politicians who think they know better than you.

Johnson is exactly what our founders envisioned when they structured our government to draw individuals from different walks of life to best represent its people – a problem solving political newcomer who learned what he knows from success in the private sector.

Johnson is exactly the type of representative we should encourage to run for office. A citizen who, through the freedom our country provides, succeeded in the private sector, and a citizen who wants to make sure more people are able to achieve their own success through more freedom.