While "tea party" activists generally have backed Mr. Duffy, his campaign isn't as stridently conservative as other favorites of the movement, such as Senate candidates Sharron Angle of Nevada and Christine O'Donnell of Delaware.
Mr. Duffy, conscious of the slightly Democratic-leaning electorate of his district, has been careful not to overplay his Republican hand, Mr. Riley said.
"He's running a Republican race, but he's running a 7th District Republican race," Mr. Riley said. "He's making his own campaign, based on his own vision of who he is and what he wants to do."
"He's doing what he wants to do, and I don't think he's worried about all the outsiders. They're very helpful, but he's trying to stay low-keyed."
When Mr. Duffy said he supported Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul D. Ryan's "Roadmap for America," which includes a private option for new Social Security enrollees, the Lassa campaign and Democrats accused Mr. Duffy of wanting to dismantle the government retirement program.
But Mr. Duffy quickly rebutted those accusations by saying that he doesn't want to privatize Social Security - and in doing so reinforced his image as an independent thinker, Mr. Franklin said.
Whether Democratic voters angry at Mr. Obey direct their frustrations at Mrs. Lassa or Mr. Duffy remains uncertain.
Yet despite Mr. Duffy's campaign success, Mrs. Lassa still is very much in the race, many experts say. She hails from the Wausau/Stevens Point area - the district's population center - as opposed to Mr. Duffy, who grew up in region's relatively rural north. She has a slight fundraising edge. And the district, while not a liberal bastion, historically hasn't been overly sympathetic to Republicans, either.
"She is not out of this race by any means, but she's certainly not ahead," said Mr. Riley, who taught Mrs. Lassa two decades ago at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. "If you absolutely had to bet a 100 bucks, I'd suppose you'd have to bet 100 bucks on Sean Duffy. But I think it's pretty close."
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