Russ Feingold is a U.S. senator from Wisconsin.

Senator Feingold was born on March 2, 1953, in Janesville, WI. After attending Janesville's public schools and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Feingold earned his bachelor's degree in 1975 and his J.D. in 1979. He is Jewish and married to Mary Erpenbach. They have four children and live in Middleton, WI.

Feingold went on to practice law in Madison with two different law firms until winning a seat in the Wisconsin state senate in 1982. He served there until 1993, when he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Since 1995, Feingold has spearheaded a national effort, with Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, to clean up America's campaign finance system. As part of his effort to lessen the influence of money in Washington, Feingold also led in the passage of the congressional gift ban in 1995.

Feingold has been an independent voice in the Senate. He serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Budget Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and the Special Committee of Aging. Feingold was reelected in 1998 with almost 51 percent of the vote.