Senator Ron Johnson Is Re-elected in Wisconsin - The New York Times

Politics|Wisconsin voters re-elect Ron Johnson, an predetermination denier, successful a cardinal Senate race.

• Nov. 9, 2022Updated 5:26 p.m. ET

Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican and 1 of the nation’s foremost spreaders of misinformation, won a 3rd term, according to The Associated Press, turning backmost a situation from his Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

Mr. Johnson’s victory, successful what became 1 of the ugliest Senate races successful the state and the astir costly contention successful Wisconsin history, is captious to Republican efforts to triumph backmost a Senate majority.

Like his victories successful 2010 and 2016 implicit Russ Feingold, a Democrat, Mr. Johnson defeated Mr. Barnes aft initially trailing successful nationalist polls. In August, aft Mr. Barnes won the Democratic primary arsenic the wide favorite, Mr. Johnson and his Republican allies began a strident campaign to statement him arsenic a soft-on-crime, anti-American radical.

Democrats had criticized Mr. Johnson arsenic a self-dealer who utilized his twelve years successful the Senate to enrich himself and his large donors — a strategy agreed to much than a twelvemonth agone by officials successful Washington and Wisconsin. They mostly did not accent to voters Mr. Johnson’s relation successful erstwhile President Donald J. Trump’s effort to overturn the effect of the 2020 election oregon his pushing of discredited Covid treatments.

Now Mr. Johnson, 67, volition instrumentality to Washington for a 3rd word that helium said six years agone helium would not seek. He began to alteration his tune shortly earlier the 2020 election and formally launched his re-election bid aboriginal this year.

Mr. Barnes, 35, had formed himself arsenic the dependable of a caller procreation of Wisconsin Democrats, ending his stump speeches with a rousing, “It’s our clip now.”

But Mr. Barnes struggled to triumph over the middle-of-the-road voters. Mr. Johnson’s September advertizing blitz turned the contention around, burying Mr. Barnes nether a mostly unanswered upland of onslaught ads utilizing his ain words that called for a redistribution of instrumentality enforcement resources, criticized constabulary practices and praised progressive officials. Mr. Barnes tried to region himself from his past statements, but Mr. Johnson’s ads enactment him successful a spread excessively heavy to excavation retired from.

Mr. Johnson, a erstwhile plastics manufacturing executive, is conscionable the 2nd Wisconsin Republican to triumph a 3rd Senate word successful the past century. Senator Alexander Wiley served 4 presumption from 1939 to 1963, and Senator Robert La Follette, a wide Republican known arsenic “Fighting Bob,” spent the past 20 years of his beingness successful the Senate. He remains 1 of the astir influential and celebrated governmental figures successful the state’s history.