The Wisconsin senator appears to be defying swing-state political logic with his approach.
Ron Johnson’s approval ratings are underwater in a swing state that President Joe Biden won.
Instead of moving to the center, though, as he faces reelection this fall, the Wisconsin senator has become the face of conspiracy theories about Covid-19 and the 2020 election in the Senate. He has said that gargling mouthwash can kill the coronavirus, Jan. 6 was a mostly “peaceful protest,” and unvaccinated people around the world are being sent “basically into internment camps.”
For a vulnerable senator staring down a tough campaign, the string of head-turning remarks seem to defy political logic. But it turns out that Johnson’s shoot-from-the-lip style is a feature, not a bug, of his campaign for a third term. GOP strategists and officials say his unfiltered remarks are generating enthusiasm among a party base conditioned by Donald Trump, and appealing to independents who loathe Washington.
“He’s still perceived as an outsider. He’s not part of the GOP establishment in D.C., he never has been, and Wisconsinites like that,” said Bill McCoshen, a Wisconsin-based Republican strategist, who is not working on the race. “They may not agree with what he says every time, but they like the fact that he’s willing to speak his mind, and he’s not politically correct.”
Even Democrats largely aren’t campaigning this year against the controversial comments Johnson has made, instead focusing on the senator’s alleged self-dealing in Washington in an attempt to strip him of the non-politician veneer that helped him win past elections.
“Kellyanne Conway was right when she said voters vote on what affects them, not what offends them,” said Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. “But nobody likes being ripped off by someone who’s out to serve themselves. And that’s the core of our message.”
Despite Johnson’s hard turn to the right, this closely watched contest that could determine party control of the Senate is a coin flip, according to both Democratic and GOP consultants — a reflection of the fact that Republicans across the country face an extremely favorable political environment.
Yet at the same time that he has served up red meat for the base, he’s also hedged his bets by presenting a softer side in TV ads in past elections. Johnson is replicating that playbook in this year’s midterm election.
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Ron Johnson’s approval ratings are underwater in a swing state that President Joe Biden won.
Instead of moving to the center, though, the Wisconsin senator has become the face of conspiracy theories about Covid-19 and the 2020 election in the Senate.https://t.co/xMH8nhOlJv
— POLITICO (@politico) April 19, 2022
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