Topline
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) trails Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes by seven points — his largest deficit in a key race that could determine which party controls the Senate — according to a poll from Marquette University Law School released Wednesday, as Johnson faces several political controversies.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes’ lead over Sen. Ron Johnson for the key Senate seat widened from … [+]
Key Facts
Barnes, the current lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, leads Johnson 51% to 44%, up from a narrow two-point lead he held in June, when polls showed Barnes had the support of 46% voters in the battleground state, which voted for former President Donald Trump in 2016 and President Joe Biden in 2020.
Johnson, who is one of Trump’s biggest supporters in the Senate, has come under fire in recent months for controversial remarks, including arguing Social Security and Medicare should be categorized as discretionary spending, spreading misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines potentially causing AIDS, saying he doesn’t trust the FBI after it searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last week, and sending text messages to aides revealed at the January 6 hearings indicating he wanted to hand-deliver “fake” electors to former Vice President Mike Pence during the 2020 election.
Johnson, 67, is also the subject of an ethics complaint over a $280,000 gift to his chief of staff, which he argued was intended for the employee’s cancer treatments, NBC News reported.
Some 95% of Democrats in the poll support Barnes over Johnson, the same as in June, while 92% of Republicans favor Johnson to Barnes, up slightly from 89% two months ago, according to the poll of 811 Wisconsin registered voters conducted between August 10-15.
Barnes, 35 also has the support of independents, with 52% of respondents backing him over Johnson, a sizable leap from 41% in June.
Key Background
Barnes and Johnson have attacked each other as being too politically extreme and out of touch. In an interview with CNN, Barnes said Johnson “turned his back on working people.” Johnson repeatedly referred to Barnes as “radical,” posting a tweet calling him the Democratic Party’s “most radical left candidate.” The race has become one of the most highly anticipated races in the November election, as both parties attempt to tip the 50-50 stalemate in the Senate (Vice President Kamala Harris is the tiebreaker). A FiveThirtyEight report last week suggested Barnes, who has endorsements from progressive Democratic Senators Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), could be Democrats’ best hope to flip a Senate seat in November.
Surprising Fact
Some 83% of Republicans polled said they are “absolutely certain” to vote in the November general election, over 82% of Democrats and 66% of independents.
Further Reading
Barnes tops Johnson by 7 points in Wisconsin Senate race: poll (The Hill)
Ron Johnson tries for a rebrand after years of controversy and Democratic attacks (NBC News)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/08/17/ron-johnson-trails-by-7-points-in-key-wisconsin-senate-race-poll-finds/