basquebromance
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- Nov 26, 2015
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In Wisconsin, Joe Biden is at 43-52 (-9) approval, while Ron Johnson is at 33-45 (-12). This is a winnable race for the Democrats, with the right candidate.
But I like the point the article makes, that folks like Johnson because he's similar to Trump: he shoots from the hip and is not afraid to speak his mind
www.politico.com
EXCERPTS:
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.”
A Wisconsin-based Democratic strategist who worked on the 2016 Senate race, in which Johnson defeated former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, said Johnson has won in the past because he excited GOP diehards on right-wing radio while also appealing to white suburban women with his TV ads.
“Ron Johnson has been consistently underestimated as a candidate,” the person said, requesting anonymity to speak frankly. “He has figured out how to be different people to different audiences.”
“Ron Johnson is truly his own man. He could say anything tomorrow, and you could call me and I’d say, ‘I had no idea he was going to say that,’” said a person close to Johnson. “That’s full of risk and that’s full of hand-wringing by the establishment Republicans and it’s full of alarm-ringing by the media. And it’s also full of authenticity with voters, including swing voters, not just the base.”
“I think it is entirely possible that Democrats have a bad night nationally, and Ron Johnson still loses,” said Joe Zepecki, a Wisconsin-based Democratic strategist who is not working for any Senate candidate. “That’s how much trouble I really genuinely believe that he’s in here.”
Charlie Sykes, a Wisconsin native and anti-Trump ex-Republican, previously supported Johnson but now compares him to Joseph McCarthy, the former Wisconsin senator who led a demagogic red-baiting campaign.
“Johnson should be the most vulnerable Republican in the country,” he said. But given the political mood, the race “leans Republican, even as unpopular as Johnson is, unless the Democrats can really get their act together.”
But I like the point the article makes, that folks like Johnson because he's similar to Trump: he shoots from the hip and is not afraid to speak his mind
Ron Johnson pursues a scorched-earth path to reelection
The Wisconsin senator appears to be defying swing-state political logic with his approach.
www.politico.com
EXCERPTS:
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.”
A Wisconsin-based Democratic strategist who worked on the 2016 Senate race, in which Johnson defeated former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, said Johnson has won in the past because he excited GOP diehards on right-wing radio while also appealing to white suburban women with his TV ads.
“Ron Johnson has been consistently underestimated as a candidate,” the person said, requesting anonymity to speak frankly. “He has figured out how to be different people to different audiences.”
“Ron Johnson is truly his own man. He could say anything tomorrow, and you could call me and I’d say, ‘I had no idea he was going to say that,’” said a person close to Johnson. “That’s full of risk and that’s full of hand-wringing by the establishment Republicans and it’s full of alarm-ringing by the media. And it’s also full of authenticity with voters, including swing voters, not just the base.”
“I think it is entirely possible that Democrats have a bad night nationally, and Ron Johnson still loses,” said Joe Zepecki, a Wisconsin-based Democratic strategist who is not working for any Senate candidate. “That’s how much trouble I really genuinely believe that he’s in here.”
Charlie Sykes, a Wisconsin native and anti-Trump ex-Republican, previously supported Johnson but now compares him to Joseph McCarthy, the former Wisconsin senator who led a demagogic red-baiting campaign.
“Johnson should be the most vulnerable Republican in the country,” he said. But given the political mood, the race “leans Republican, even as unpopular as Johnson is, unless the Democrats can really get their act together.”
