Democrats battle to knock out Sen. Ron Johnson in tough election year

MILWAUKEE — Democrats are working overtime this election cycle to oust their public enemy No. 1: Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

Mr. Johnson is facing a tidal wave of Democratic challengers seeking to defeat the Republican firebrand, citing their irreconcilable disagreements over the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, his leadership of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and his oft-repeated doubts about the integrity of the 2020 election.

Tom Nelson, one of several Democrats vying for Mr. Johnson’s seat, said animosity toward the senator has grown in the past decade and the more than dozen challengers running to defeat him showcase that.

“Back in 2010, you could count on [Mr. Johnson] to spit out traditional conservative Republican talking points, tea party talking points, railing against Obama and Obamacare, but in 2020, things really began to change,” Mr. Nelson said. “He is pretty much the manifestation of Donald Trump for 2022.”

Mr. Nelson, the executive of Outagamie County in the northeast part of Wisconsin, is one of more than 10 Democrats seeking to replace Mr. Johnson.

Other Democrats challenging Mr. Johnson include Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, and Alex Lasry, the son of Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry.

Long-shot Republican challengers include John Berman, a former engineer, and Adam Benedetto, who accused Mr. Johnson of perpetuating the “big lie” that the 2020 election was stolen from Mr. Trump.

Mr. Lasry, who grew up in New York, said he was motivated to run by the way Mr. Johnson has governed. He said the incumbent has brought few results back to Wisconsin.

“For over a decade, Wisconsinites have only had one U.S. senator fighting for them in Washington while Ron Johnson has spent his two terms in office failing to deliver anything for the people of Wisconsin,” Mr. Lasry told The Washington Times. The state’s other senator is Democrat Tammy Baldwin.

Ms. Godlewski has accused Mr. Johnson of using his platform to spread “nonsense” while ignoring working families.

“Ron Johnson and I couldn’t be more different. While he’s focused on peddling conspiracy theories, voicing support for higher taxes on working families and calling on the GOP to repeal the Affordable Care Act, I’ve spent my time as state treasurer delivering for working families,” she said.

Since Mr. Johnson announced his reelection in January, liberal groups have poured at least $5.3 million into Wisconsin to defeat him. They are expected to expand their campaign donations until November. The incumbent entered January with $2.3 million in cash on hand for his campaign, over $1 million more than any Democrat.

Mr. Johnson, 67, is the only Republican senator running for reelection in a state President Biden won two years ago. 

Mr. Biden took Wisconsin in 2020 by about 20,000 votes after Donald Trump narrowly flipped the state in 2016, breaking years of Democratic dominance. Republicans in the state Legislature ordered a review of the 2020 election, but Democratic officials filed legal challenges.

Mr. Johnson’s campaign said it is confident in the senator’s record and tied Democrats to rising crime, inflation and overspending.

“Based on what he has accomplished, Sen. Johnson believes he is in a strong position to win reelection,” said Johnson campaign spokesman Jake Wilkins. “His strategy will be to do what he has consistently done: work hard and simply tell the truth.”

Mr. Wilkins said the campaign believes the only challenges Mr. Johnson faces are negative news coverage and outside money.

“The Democrats’ strategy is obvious,” Mr. Wilkins said. “They will continue to lie about and distort his record and take everything he says out of context to falsely portray his stance on the issues. His biggest challenges will be the massive spending by liberal outside groups and the partisan liberal media that advocates for Democrats by pushing the radical left’s message and agenda.”

Mr. Johnson is seeking his third term in office after speculation that he might retire after two terms. Mr. Trump offered his “total endorsement” a year ago, before Mr. Johnson announced his run for reelection.

The Oshkosh manufacturer came to Washington as a tea party-inspired political outsider in 2010 after defeating Democrat Russ Feingold, who lost again to Mr. Johnson in a 2016 rematch.

In more than a decade in office, Mr. Johnson swiftly raised his national profile, particularly by chairing the homeland security committee and focusing his investigations on conservative concerns such as the Chinese origins of COVID-19 and the financial dealings of Hunter Biden, the president’s son.

Mr. Johnson and Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, recently revealed financial records indicating that an arm of the Chinese government transferred $100,000 to Hunter Biden.

Mr. Johnson has not shied away from downplaying the events of the 2021 Capitol riot, which a Democratic-led panel in the House is investigating.

The senator, who objected to certifying Mr. Biden’s victory, last year referred to the riot as “largely peaceful.”

Mr. Johnson’s positions that make him an enemy of Democrats have largely made him a champion among Republicans.

Rep. Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin Republican, said Mr. Johnson has a base that reaches beyond other Republican favorites in the state.

“He’s loved in a way even [former Republican Gov.] Scott Walker wasn’t,” Mr. Grothman said.

Mr. Johnson has also been dealing with dropping poll numbers despite a loyal base among Republicans.

According to Morning Consult quarterly polls conducted from 2017 to 2021 among at least 2,517 registered Wisconsin voters, 36% approved of Mr. Johnson’s job performance in the final months of 2021, compared with 51% who disapproved.

The poll carried an error margin of 3 percentage points.

Evan Finger, 23, of Kenosha, said he probably wouldn’t vote for Mr. Johnson in November. He said the senator is too partisan.

“I am not a huge fan of Mr. Johnson. He seems like a party loyalist,” said Mr. Finger, adding that he is unsure which Democrat he would support in the general election.

Don Schnorr, 59, of Milwaukee, said he has supported Mr. Johnson in the past but is willing to listen to the platform of whichever Democrat is nominated.

Mr. Schnorr added, however, that he thinks Mr. Johnson is right to look into some of the issues that Democrats dismissed.

“I think the things coming out now show that he wasn’t such a nutcase about what Hunter Biden was up to, things of that nature on his laptop and his dealings with foreign governments,” Mr. Schnorr said.

Wisconsin’s primary election will be held on Aug. 9.