(CNN) -- As a reporter, I spent much of 1998 following a U.S. Senate candidate who was a handsome, likeable, well-spoken, ambitious guy in his 40s who was a graduate of Craig High School in Janesville, Wisconsin, his hometown. At heart, he loved issues and advocacy. He was the son of a small-town lawyer and his rise to political heights included surprising turns that led some to speculate he could go on to be president. His name was Russ Feingold, and he won his second term in the U.S. Senate that year by defeating another Janesville political wonk in his 40s, Mark Neumann, a Republican who gave up his seat in the House of Representatives to enter the race. He was, without question, a Wisconsin liberal.
@highlight
Paul Ryan and Russ Feingold are two policy wonks who grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin
@highlight
Alan Borsuk says the two have very different political views but share key attributes
@highlight
He says they, along with many in Wisconsin, want politics to be about big ideas and issues
@highlight
Borsuk: Ryan may not bring Romney to victory in Wisconsin, but the race has tightened
(If I was really prescient, I would have been following @placeholder, then 28, in 1998.