It's time to vote Republican Senator Ron Johnson out of the Senate.
That is according to a new editorial published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that urges statewide voters to vote out Johnson, who was initially elected for his current position in 2010.
The editorial cites Johnson's statements and beliefs about overturning the 2020 election, vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as his cavalier response to the January 6 insurrection and encouraging the federal government to annually rewrite Medicare and Social Security policies that greatly affect seniors.
"For years, Ron Johnson has demonstrated that he should be retired to his family's seaside Florida home—and not representing Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate," the editorial reads. "Voters should send him packing this November."
A poll released September 30 by FiveThirtyEight showed Johnson ahead of his Democratic challenger, Mandela Barnes, 48.6 percent to 46.7 percent.
Johnson's push for annual budget deliberations regarding Medicare and Social Security—two programs Americans pay into and qualify for by retirement age—was called a "drastic change" by the editorial. President Joe Biden has campaigned for Democrats up and down local and statewide ballots on the two issues, saying seniors should be "ready to fight for these things."
Florida Senator Rick Scott previously proposed a plan where Social Security and Medicare would have to be renewed every five years by Congress. After Scott received backlash, Johnson then proposed "discretionary" spending for both programs to be decided annually as part of Congress' budget.
The editorial also blasts Johnson for his role in a "fake elector" scheme associated with the 2020 election, in which Johnson's office allegedly attempted to flip the state in Donald Trump's favor by handing a document of switched electors to then-Vice President Mike Pence.
In August, Johnson said the scheme "lasted seconds" and that his role had been "overblown," admitting he fielded three texts and sent two to staffers about it.
He has flip-flopped regarding the validity of the 2020 election. In addition to refusing to commit to accepting the results of the upcoming election in November, Johnson has also minimized the January 6 insurrection as mostly "peaceful."
If the protesters had been "Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters, I might have been a little concerned," Johnson said in March 2021.
The editorial also criticizes Johnson's statements throughout the pandemic, including the encouragement of Ivermectin as a coronavirus therapy. Some of his other claims questioned face masks and whether vaccines helped prevent transmission, and one Johnson statement quickly debunked was that mouthwash could kill the virus.
Johnson's most notable self-touted accomplishments include the Trump tax cut, and a 2018 "Right-to-Try" bill that allows terminally ill patients to try experimental treatments not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"Ron Johnson is the worst Wisconsin political representative since the infamous Senator Joseph McCarthy," the editorial reads. "Johnson in the past promised to serve no more than two terms. Voters should hold him to that pledge in November."
Johnson and Barnes debated Thursday evening. Both campaigns are claiming victory and fundraising in the aftermath.
Newsweek reached out to the Johnson and Barnes campaigns for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
