Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) is losing to Democratic challenger and current Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes in a new poll evidently conducted on behalf of the Barnes campaign.
The survey was done by Clarity Campaign Labs and found Barnes leading by one percent. Polling has consistently shown Barnes and Johnson within single digits, and with just weeks until Election Day, surveys don’t always show the same leader. Two recent surveys found Barnes and Johnson tied among certain groups of voters. The new poll, which reflects the opinions of likely voters, saw the Democratic contender with 48 percent of the support and Johnson with 47 percent. Biden won Wisconsin in the 2020 presidential election, and the state’s other Senator and current governor (the latter of whom is also running for re-election) are Democrats, so there’s clearly a recent precedent for a candidate such as Barnes prevailing. He and Johnson recently faced each other for a second debate, where members of the crowd booed Johnson after he used a question designed for a simple moment of interpersonal respect to attack Barnes.
The question covered what each candidate found admirable about the other. When asked, Barnes pointed to Johnson’s support for his family, and Johnson initially also mentioned Barnes’s family, before devolving into a partisan screed. “I guess what puzzles me about that is with that upbringing, why has he turned against America?” Johnson said. In any reasonably objective sense, Barnes obviously isn’t now “against America,” whatever that would even mean.
Recently, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an article from its editorial board tearing into Johnson’s record, including his denial of the reality of climate change, efforts to downplay what happened at the Capitol during last year’s Trump-incited riot, and propagation of nonsensical conspiracy theories about COVID-19, including that certain authorities elsewhere in the world were placing those unvaccinated against the virus into internment camps. The Senator’s team pointed journalists to facilities for two-week stints in isolation established by the Australian government serving residents returning from trips outside of the country — which doesn’t remotely constitute “internment.” Other points of the publication’s contentions with the Senator and his record included his proposals for making Medicare and Social Security subject to annual budget negotiations in Congress, which could obviously jeopardize the longevity of both programs depending on what those then in office decide.
He also pushed for tax changes that provided major benefits to very wealthy families including multiple top donors of his. Abortion rights are also at stake. Johnson has spoken of support for making decisions about access to the procedure at the state level, but once no longer facing the pressures of re-election, he could support a 15-week abortion ban recently proposed at the federal government level by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). There’s nothing stopping him. During their first debate, Barnes criticized Johnson for essentially just dismissing concerns about abortion restrictions in Wisconsin, which, like elsewhere, could affect millions following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
