The list of Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate is shrinking again.
Madison-area developer Terrence Wall has dropped his bid for the U.S. Senate, less than a week after delegates at the state Republican Party convention endorsed Oshkosh businessman Ron Johnson and Dick Leinenkugel bowed out.
UW-Madison Political Scientist Charles Franklin says the news is a little shocking, even though Wall’s campaign has faced problems almost since it started. Most notable, Franklin says, were questions raised about how he’d avoided paying state income taxes for most of the past decade.
Even though his use of tax laws was perfectly legal, Franklin says Wall constantly had to be on the defensive end of an issue that dominates the minds of many GOP voters.
Wall’s departure leaves the primary race between Johnson and Watertown businessman David Westlake. Franklin says a recent Rasmussen Poll shows the edge goes to Johnson right now, who trailed incumbent Democratic Senator Russ Feingold by just a few points.