Johnson unifies Republicans as they remain split over issues
Senator gets ovations, cheers at state GOP convention
MIDDLETON – At a divided Republican convention, Ron Johnson was a unifying force.
Wisconsin Republicans are split over who to pick as their candidate for governor, how much energy they should put into reviewing the 2020 election and whether they should convene a special meeting of the state Senate in the coming days.
In contrast, the campaign of the twoterm U.S. senator from Oshkosh offered them something they could all get behind Saturday at the state Republican Party’s convention. Republicans are rallying behind Johnson as Democrats sort through a crowded field to decide who to run against him in November.
Johnson won standing ovations and rousing cheers as he addressed the convention and argued he is under constant attack from Democrats and the media.
“It’s not fun,” he told them. “Integrity is everything to a businessperson. It’s everything to me. It’s not fun having your integrity attacked, lied about, falsely accused day in and day out. It’s not fun.”
Wisconsin voters are split on Johnson, with 36% viewing him favorably and 46% viewing him unfavorably, according to an April poll by Marquette University Law School. Among Republicans, Johnson is popular, with 71% of members of his party viewing him favorably and 11% viewing him unfavorably, according to that survey.
Johnson used his 35-minute speech to criticize how the federal government handled the coronavirus pandemic.
“There were people inside the administration who utilized the pandemic to defeat a sitting president,” Johnson said.
Democrats have said comments like that have made Johnson a divisive figure and help explain his low favorability rating. Johnson on Saturday contended others were tearing the country apart.
“I don’t know about you, (but) aren’t you tired of the anger? Aren’t you tired of the divide?” Johnson said.
He said he agreed with Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden when they called for unifying the country but said he blamed them for continued divisions.
“Unfortunately, neither President Biden nor President Obama fulfilled those goals,” he said. “In fact, I would argue they exacerbated the divide.”
Ben Wikler, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said it was ridiculous for Johnson to blame others for a lack of unity.
“I can tell that Senator Ron Johnson is tired of accountability,” Wikler told reporters. “Unfortunately, his actions have been so divisive that merely to speak the truth about Ron Johnson’s record has the effect of dividing voters who he’s betrayed from his campaign.”
The Democrats running to challenge Johnson include Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.
While Republicans stand together in their efforts to re-elect Johnson, they are divided over who is best to challenge Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Running in the Aug. 9 primary for governor are former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, construction company coowner Tim Michels, management consultant Kevin Nicholson and state Rep. Tim Ramthun of Campbellsport.
Perhaps the most significant division in the Republican Party is over the last presidential election. Biden beat Donald Trump by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin and those results have been confirmed by recounts and court rulings.
Republicans have said they consider the election flawed but are split on what to do.
Assembly Republicans last year hired former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to review the election. Some Republicans are on board with his work, some say leaders aren’t letting him look into the election deeply enough and some have argued he’s conducting a sham investigation that should be shut down.
As they hash out the election review, Republicans have gotten into internal fights over whether to try to decertify the 2020 election.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester told the convention crowd that trying to rescind the state’s electoral votes is legally impossible. He received sustained boos from the delegates.
Scholars and nonpartisan attorneys for the Legislature have agreed with Vos’ assessment, but many in the crowd made clear they did not. Ramthun has pushed for decertification in his campaign for governor and Gableman published a report in March that said lawmakers should consider trying it.
Vos brushed off the boos during a news conference later in the day, saying they showed Republicans could have disagreements while sharing the same broad goals.
“It says that there’s diversity of
“I don’t know about you, (but) aren’t you tired of the anger? Aren’t you tired of the divide?
Sen. Ron Johnson R-Wis.
thought,” Vos told reporters. “We are the party of free speech. We are not the party of cancel culture . ... I think for most of the people who are watching, it is crystal clear that we need to focus on the future.”
Republicans who control the Legislature
have also been divided on whether to bring themselves into what’s known as an extraordinary session so the state Senate can fire John Tate, the chairman of the Parole Commission appointed by Evers.
Tate’s appointment became controversial this month when he paroled a man who killed his wife after serving 25 years of an 80-year sentence. Tate reversed the parole after the victim’s family and Republicans spoke out and Evers asked him to rescind the parole.
Leaders of the state Assembly voted Friday to initiate the session, but Senate leaders have declined to do so.
State Sen. Roger Roth of Appleton, who is running for lieutenant governor, has led an effort to try to force the Senate to come into session. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu of Oostburg on Saturday stood by the decision not to meet on Tate and said he expected Roth’s effort to fail.
Republicans used their convention at the Madison Marriott West to look past their differences to focus on defeating Evers and other Democrats.
With Biden’s approval rating low and inflation high, they feel the wind at their backs this fall.
“We need Republican leadership,” said U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil of Janesville said from the stage. “We need Republican officeholders and we need to defeat Gov. Tony Evers.”