Report: Democrats “pine” to face Ron Johnson one more time

According to a report by James Arkin and Burgess Everett of Politico Wisconsin Democrats are eager to face off against incumbent Republican Sen. Ron “Our Dumb Senator” Johnson in 2022.

Here’s something you don’t see every day: Democrats goading an incumbent Republican senator to run for reelection.

It’s not only that Democrats see Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) as finally ripe for defeat after closely aligning himself with former President Donald Trump’s penchant for incendiary rhetoric. They also want to make a point that Johnson’s confrontational style isno longer a fit in his perennial swing state.

“I would love to run against Ron Johnson,” said Tom Nelson, one of a handful of Democrats vying for his party’snomination. “I want to make a statement that in Wisconsin, his behavior is unacceptable — and this is what we’re going to do about it.”

Wanting to run against Sen. Johnson, an entrenched incumbent who has twice beaten a formidable Democratic opponent in former Sen. Russ Feingold, seems to me to be a case of “be careful what you wish for.” Sen. Johnson has twice surprised many who believed he couldn’t beat Sen. Feingold and he has demonstrated an ability to raise prodigious amounts of money (though he doesn’t have a lot of cash on hand at the moment).

If I were the Democrats seeking to unseat Sen. Johnson, I’d focus more on why I’d be the best choice to serve as Wisconsin’s United States Senator instead of focusing on why Sen. Ron Johnson is the bogeyman, because that doesn’t seem to me to be a winning strategy.

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4 thoughts on “Report: Democrats “pine” to face Ron Johnson one more time

  1. Couldn’t agree more Zach. Democrats have a habit of counting chickens before they’ve hatched. If RoJo runs we can’t defeat him by simply airing TV ads and sending mailers calling him a traitor and a racist. Gotta put forward a vision of a better future.

  2. El Rojo’s “surprise” wins had Karl Rove’s fingerprints all over them. No way did such an unknown, with zero personality and campaign presence, beat Russ, whose legacy rivals that of the Late great William Proxmire. Turnout is the answer.

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