Here & Now

Ron Johnson, Mandela Barnes and Wisconsin's 2022 Senate Race

Zac Schultz:

The race for a seat in the U.S. Senate between incumbent Ron Johnson and challenger Mandela Barnes may decide which party controls the chamber. “Here & Now” reporter Steven Potter has this report on the contest between Wisconsin’s senior senator and the state’s lieutenant governor.

Steven Potter:

The cost of everything is up. Numerous polls show inflation is the number one concern among voters.

Ron Johnson:

Do not believe the lies.

Steven Potter:

Political candidates including Republican Ron Johnson and Democrat Mandela Barnes who are competing for a seat in the U.S. Senate want Wisconsin voters to know they’re listening.

Mandela Barnes:

All across the state people are concerned. They’ve been concerned with rising costs.

Ron Johnson:

They’d like some relief from inflation.

Steven Potter:

Barnes is currently serving as the state lieutenant governor and Johnson is seeking his third term in the Senate. They have very different plans for addressing inflation. Senator Johnson says the problem is high government spending.

Ron Johnson:

Stop spending so much money. Inflation — it’s pretty easy to understand what caused it. It’s massive deficit spending. It’s printing dollars. You have way too many dollars chasing too few goods.

Steven Potter:

Lt. Governor Barnes says some targeted tax changes are needed.

Mandela Barnes:

We need a middle-class tax cut and we can achieve this by making sure the wealthiest among us pay their fair share. That’s how we get to a place where families can have a little more economic security.

Steven Potter:

UW-Madison political scientist Eleanor Powell says the pain that people are feeling financially might motivate those who don’t usually vote in mid-term elections.

Eleanor Powell:

Between the pandemic, the economy and inflation, a lot of people are really hurting and that could bring out a lot of sort of more discontented voters.

Steven Potter:

But there’s another issue that Powell says is highly motivating in the contest between Barnes and Johnson and that’s abortion.

Eleanor Powell:

Particularly women, younger voters are really upset by the overturning of Roe vs. Wade and abortion politics, which have been particularly consequential here in Wisconsin we had this sort of preexisting ban dating back to the 1800s on the books. And so this has mobilized a lot of energy on the left. And it’s not really enthusiasm. It’s really anger and mobilization.

Steven Potter:

Barnes is calling for a new federal law allowing access to abortion. To achieve this, he wants to end the filibuster in the Senate. A filibuster is a tactic used to prevent a bill from passing by stalling it with prolonged debate.

Mandela Barnes:

The reality is we need to end the filibuster to codify the right to choose into law once and for all and we can do this if we flip Wisconsin and add one more seat to the 50/50 quote, unquote majority that we have right now.

Steven Potter:

Johnson who opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest or if the life of the mother is at risk, says individual states should use referendums to decide if abortion should be allowed.

Ron Johnson:

In 50 states, people use democratic process to answer this question. Here’s the fundamental question of this profound moral issue: at what point does society have the responsibility to protect life? How do you balance the rights of a woman versus the rights of an unborn child.

Steven Potter:

Unlike other states, Wisconsin law does not currently allow direct referendums.

Eleanor Powell:

Senator Johnson speaks very well to the Trump wing of the Republican Party. Lieutenant Governor Barnes is young. He sort of represents a new generation in American politics. He really is trying to speak to younger voters, voters of color, voters who often feel their interests aren’t being well represented in Washington.

Steven Potter:

Barnes and Johnson took very different paths into politics. Mandela Barnes was born and raised in Milwaukee and is very proud of his working-class roots.

Mandela Barnes:

Mom was a teacher and my dad worked third shirt.

Steven Potter:

After working in community organizing, he ran for office at the age of 25, winning a seat representing Milwaukee’s north side in the state Assembly. After two terms there, Barnes ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in 2016 before winning election as lieutenant governor in 2018 with Democratic Governor Tony Evers. In his run for the U.S. Senate, Barnes says his goal is to help middle-class Americans.

Mandela Barnes:

As I look around the state, times are getting tougher for people. Things are more difficult. It’s harder and harder to get ahead, access to middle class has been denied to so many people.

Steven Potter:

On the other side, Ron Johnson, who lives in Oshkosh, is equally as proud of his working-class background.

Narrator:

As a young man, he shoveled driveways, mowed lawns, delivered papers.

Steven Potter:

After a successful career in plastics manufacturing, Johnson first ran for U.S. Senate in 2010, beating longtime Democratic Senator Russ Feingold. He beat Feingold again in 2016. In the Senate, Johnson has served on the Homeland Security and Budget Committees. In 2016, you said you would only run for two terms. January you decided you’d run again. What made you change your mind?

Ron Johnson:

Our nation’s coming apart. Trust me, it was my preference and my wife’s very strong preference to serve out that second term and just return to our private life. I think I’m in a position where I’ve had a great deal of success as a U.S. Senator. I’ve helped improve things.

Steven Potter:

While both candidates are trying to stay on message with what they can offer voters, Johnson and Barnes also have plenty of criticism for each other.

Ron Johnson:

He is a radical leftist. I know he’s trying to hide that from Wisconsinites.

Mandela Barnes:

This is about an out of touch politician who has failed to deliver for Wisconsin, who has put himself ahead of all of us every chance.

Steven Potter:

But the candidates aren’t the only ones getting into the mudslinging. Outside groups are running their own political attack ads.

Narrator:

Ron Johnson used his office to scoop up millions for himself.

Narrator:

Mandela Barnes supports defunding the police.

Steven Potter:

Political Science Professor Eleanor Powell says voters should be very leery of any advertising they see or things mailed to their homes.

Eleanor Powell:

Political ads are in this really funny exempt category where people can say whatever they want and there’s no obligation for anything to be factual. Buyers should beware, viewers should beware that if just because it’s on TV does not mean it’s true.

Mandela Barnes:

We knew the other side would make up lies about me to scare you.

Ron Johnson:

You’ve seen the ads attacking me. They’re all lies.

Steven Potter:

Still both candidates do have their controversies. Johnson has come under fire for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and a plan to give then-vice president Mike Pence a fake slate of presidential electors. Barnes has taken heat for paying his property taxes late and for the high cost of his security detail. Currently, the political makeup of the U.S. Senate stands at 50 Democrats, 48 Republicans and two independent Senators who lean left. Given that close split, Powell says election results in Wisconsin are key.

Eleanor Powell:

Control of the Senate hinges on our razor thin majority right now. Here in Wisconsin, we have the potential to determine who controls the Senate. Wisconsin may be the ball game here. If you care about the outcome of this race, you should show up on Election Day because we really don’t know what’s going to happen.

Steven Potter:

For “Here & Now,” I’m Steven Potter.