On Friday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) faced Mandela Barnes, the current lieutenant governor of Wisconsin and the Democratic nominee in the state’s ongoing Senate race, for a first debate. Barnes, who polling indicates is within rhetorical striking distance of winning in November, adeptly shredded Johnson’s positions on issues like defending democracy and upholding reproductive rights.
“Now, the Senator called the overturning of Roe v. Wade a victory,” Barnes observed during the debate. “He celebrated the Dobbs decision. And he said that if women don’t like the laws of their state, like the 1849 criminal abortion ban we have here, he said they can move. I can’t think of a more callous, out-of-touch, or extreme position to take. If I were in the U.S. Senate, I would absolutely vote to codify Roe v. Wade, to protect the right to an abortion and the right to choose into law once and for all, to protect women’s rights.” Although the Supreme Court’s decision to undo Roe and thereby eliminate national legal protections for abortion pushed decision-making regarding abortion to state officials, there is also an opportunity for further action by Congress on the issue. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) already proposed a 15-week federal abortion ban. Johnson has expressed support for state-level decision-making, but he could change his mind under pressure.
Getting to January 6, which is among the issues about which voters are concerned heading into the midterm elections although polling suggests abortion is more highly prioritized, Barnes again criticized Johnson.
“He may not have noticed that an insurrection was happening, because he called those people patriots, he called them tourists,” Barnes remarked on Friday. “These are the folks that he supported. This is an act that he supported. And he can make whatever comparisons he wants to, but the reality is this was an attempted overthrow of the government by trying to overturn a free and fair election.” A caption from Barnes’s personal account added that Johnson “still pretends to be the law and order candidate. We can’t let him get away with it.” Johnson was just recently covering for the rioters yet again, contesting the idea that what happened constituted an armed insurrection, even though people were armed on the grounds of the Capitol, and numerous items besides guns were also used as weapons.
“I actually embrace one of the characterizations in one of the ads that they put out, either Senator Johnson or one of his allies,” Barnes said. “It ends by saying ‘Mandela Barnes — different.’ I embrace that, because we don’t have enough working-class people in the United States Senate. The Senate is broken. Senator Johnson is one of the worst parts of a broken system — a person who has been in it for himself and his wealthy donors. Sure, if you’re a multi-millionaire, he’ll look out for you. But if you’re a working-class person, it might not be so easy.” A recent Public Policy Polling survey conducted late last month found Johnson and Barnes tied.
