Hotline On Call

Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl (D) loaned his campaign $1 million in the last quarter of 2010, seemingly putting to rest speculation that he may retire instead of seeking re-election next year.

According to his fourth quarter FEC report, obtained by The Hotline, Kohl contributed $1 million to his war chest while only spending $12,000. Because of the loan, he finished the year with slightly more than $1 million cash on hand.

Kohl, who will be 77 years old on Election Day next year, had been the subject of retirement rumors because of his age and near empty war chest. He finished the third quarter of 2010 with less than $26,000 in his campaign account.

But Kohl, who has significant personal wealth through his ownership of a grocery store chain and the Milwaukee Bucks, appears to be laying the groundwork to run for a fifth term.

He may face an uphill fight in that race, however. Wisconsin turned a few shades redder in 2010, as Republicans made significant gains at every level of government. No Republican has emerged to run against Kohl yet, but now-Sen. Ron Johnson (R) was a completely unknown quantity when he jumped in the race against Sen. Russell Feingold (D) last year and turned out to be one of the GOP's strongest 2010 candidates.