GOP Sen. Ron Johnson holds narrow lead in battleground Wisconsin

Sen. Ron Johnson clung to a slight lead in Wisconsin over Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes early Wednesday, keeping his bid for a third term alive in a race that was considered a toss-up.

Mr. Johnson, a Republican, pulled ahead of Mr. Barnes by a few points in final polling ahead of Election Day after battling neck-and-neck for weeks. His actual election lead as of Wednesday morning remained at about 2% with 94% of precincts reporting.

The Wisconsin Senate seat is one of several swing state races critical in determining control of the Senate. 

Senate Republicans fought to hold on to Wisconsin after losing Pennsylvania, left open by the retirement of Republican Pat Toomey. Democrat John Fetterman was declared the winner in that Senate race, defeating Republican Mehmet Oz. 

Republicans will need to pick up at least two seats held by Democrats in order to reclaim the majority they lost in 2021. 

Mr. Johnson, 67, who ran a plastics manufacturing plant in Oshkosh, initially wavered about seeking another term. He said he decided to run after voters urged him to stay in the Senate, where he has worked to lower taxes, reduce regulations and federal spending, and promote jobs and economic growth. 

Mr. Johnson also led his party’s effort to investigate the foreign business dealings of Mr. Biden’s son Hunter Biden.  

He sought to define Mr. Barnes, 35, as a far-left Democrat who would join the liberal “Squad” of congressional lawmakers who have called for defunding the police, opening the borders and rampant government spending 

Mr. Barnes attacked Mr. Johnson as “out of touch with Wisconsin” and accused him of failing to fight for an Oshkosh company to keep 1,000 manufacturing jobs in the state instead of moving them to South Carolina.

Democrats also attempted to tie Mr. Johnson to efforts by the Trump administration to contest certification of the 2020 election, accusing him of pushing “fake electors” on Vice President Mike Pence for the January 2021 certification of the results.

Mr. Johnson said the attack was partisan and based on selective information released by the Democratic-led House Jan. 6 committee, which made public only certain texts it obtained that were written by Mr. Johnson. 

“The 1/6 committee’s partisan witch-hunt is revealed,” Mr. Johnson said in a message on Twitter. “They smeared me with partial and incomplete information.”