Baldwin campaign defined Thompson as corporate sell-out

?Clearly, clearly Baldwin defining Thompson early on was a very big part of this race,? said Ken Goldstein, president of Kantar Media CMAG, which tracks political advertising. He noted Thompson wasn?t defining himself. UW-Madison history professor John Sharpless, a Republican who ran unsuccessfully against Baldwin for Congress in 2000, agreed. He said that between mid-August and mid-September, Thompson went from being a 10-point favorite to a 9-point underdog in the polls. ?It was a very rough primary that diminished (Thompson) the public?s eye, and a long period when she dominated the airwaves and beat him up,? said Sharpless, a Thompson backer.