Democrats eager to unseat Ron Johnson flag his opposition to COVID relief plan
Should Senate Republican Ron Johnson decide to run for reelection next year, his high-profile role in opposing the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan seems destined to be a talking point for both sides.
During a virtual press conference Monday, the state and national chairs of the Democratic Party excoriated Johnson’s “no” vote and his procedural role in delaying the bill, which is expected to pass the House this week.
Democratic National Chair Jaime Harrison called Johnson’s delaying tactic a “purely political stunt.”
Wisconsin Democratic chair Ben Wikler said that “by doing everything in his power to block urgently needed relief for Wisconsin families, Senator Ron Johnson has earned the title of the number one opponent of middle-class and working-class relief.”
Johnson, who declined comment for this story, cast the same “no” vote on the massive package as every other Republican in Congress.
But Johnson, in his second term, has embraced his role as one of the bill’s most outspoken critics, calling it a “monstrosity” and single-handedly delaying its passage by forcing an 11hour reading of legislation he said was being jammed through Congress.
“This is not COVID relief — it is a massive debt burden that further mortgages our children’s future,” he said after the vote.
In a recent radio interview, Johnson called the measure a “Democrat liberal progressive wish list of appropriations.”
The bill includes stimulus payments of up to $1,400 to low- and middle-income Americans, extended jobless benefits, major new tax credits for families with children, and billions for vaccine distribution and aid to schools and state and local governments.
The House is expected to pass the
package along party lines as soon as Tuesday. The COVID relief package is getting positive ratings in national opinion polls. Republican lawmakers who voted against it “are going to be held accountable next year come election time,” Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chair of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, asserted during Monday’s press call.
A pivotal race in 2022
Whichever way voters in Wisconsin view this issue more than a year from now could have an impact on the national battle for control of an evenly divided Senate, since the state will be at the epicenter of that fight.
“I think it’s obvious that I’m target number one here,” Johnson told CNN last week.
Five Republican senators have already announced they won’t be running for reelection in 2022, the latest being Roy Blunt of Missouri on Monday.
If he runs again, Johnson would be the only Republican senator on the 2022 ballot in a state carried by Joe Biden, making him on paper the Democrats’ top electoral target in the Senate.
But Johnson hasn’t announced his election plans, and has said repeatedly that he feels no urgency to decide, even as he draws national fire from Democrats for statements he has made about the storming of the Capitol Jan. 6, the conduct of the November election and other topics.
“People are out to destroy me,” Johnson told CNN last week.
In an interview with WTMJ radio in Milwaukee last week, Johnson accused the media of “trying to marginalize me” with claims that he is a “conspiracy theorist.”
“I don’t have a persecution complex on this,” he said. “It’s just what is happening. I’m just a witness to it.”
In that same interview, host Jeff Wagner asked Johnson about his reelection plans, suggesting to the senator that it could be a “lost opportunity” for the GOP if he waits too long to announce his decision, making it hard for Republicans to lay the groundwork for a campaign if he retires. Already two Democrats have announced plans to run for Johnson’s seat and others are actively weighing a run.
Johnson said he rejected that idea. “The only people that want me to decide right now are consultants, and particularly the consultants of other people that may want to run for the U.S. Senate seat … I’ll save everybody a lot of money and I’ll make my decision when I’m ready to. These elections are way too long, (and) they spend way too much money.”
Johnson suggested that whoever the Republican nominee is, that person will have all the money he or she needs, given the national stakes of the Wisconsin contest. One potential 2022 GOP candidate, Kevin Nicholson, was asked by the Journal Sentinel last week if he is waiting for Ron Johnson’s decision before formulating his own electoral plans.
Nicholson, who lost a 2018 Senate primary, said: “Ron Johnson will make a decision on what he’s going to do next. Once we know more about that, I’ll be running for the U.S. Senate or Governor in 2022.”