The Atlantic: “Ron Johnson has brought Republicans and Democrats together: They all seem to agree that they want the senator from Wisconsin to run for a third term next year.”
Wisconsin Treasurer Launches Senate Campaign
“Wisconsin Treasurer Sarah Godlewski launched her campaign for Senate on Wednesday, jumping into what’s expected to be a contentious Democratic primary as Republicans eagerly await word on whether Sen. Ron Johnson will seek a third term,” CNN reports.
Ron Johnson Leaning Towards Not Running
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told the Wisconsin State Journal that he hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll run for his seat in 2022, although he said keeping to his pledge to not seek a third term is “probably my preference now.”
However, Johnson also said his pledge of serving just two terms is no longer operative: “I think that pledge was based on the assumption we wouldn’t have Democrats in total control of government and we’re seeing what I would consider the devastating and harmful effects of Democrats total control just ramming things through.”
Ron Kind Mulls Wisconsin Senate Bid
Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) is mulling a U.S. Senate run, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has not yet announced if he’ll seek a third term next year.
There are three Democrats in the race: Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, County Executive Tom Nelson and Dr. Gillian Battino.
Priebus Mulls Bid for Wisconsin Governor
“Reince Priebus has been calling key GOP officials and operatives in Wisconsin the past week and signaling he’s seriously exploring a bid for governor of his home state in 2022,” Politico reports.
“Priebus’ biggest selling point presumably would be the support of former President Donald Trump — the two patched things up after Priebus was fired by the president back in 2017. Former Wisconsin GOP Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch is widely expected to run and is seen as a potential Republican front-runner, but Priebus would be formidable in a primary with Trump’s support. Incumbent Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is likely to seek a second term.”
Milwaukee Bucks Executive Will Run for Senate
Alex Lasry (D), a senior executive of the Milwaukee Bucks, announced that he is running for Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) Senate seat in the 2022 midterms.
Lasry is also the son of the basketball team’s co-owner, Marc Lasry.
Ron Johnson Gambles His Political Future on Trump
“Ron Johnson is linking himself to President Donald Trump’s election challenge as tightly as possible as he decides whether to run for reelection to a must-win Senate seat for Republicans,” Politico reports.
“Johnson, a steadfast Trump ally who has endeared himself to the president with his various investigative pursuits, is defending his approach, even as he faces a possible reelection campaign in a state that President-elect Joe Biden won in November. And Democrats are taking notice.”
Washington Post: Ron Johnson could take his last stand Wednesday as Trump’s most stalwart Senate defender.
Scott Walker Rules Out Run for Office In 2022
Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has accepted a full-time position running a national conservative youth organization based in northern Virginia, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Said Walker: “This would preclude me from running for governor in this next cycle or running for the U.S. Senate if Ron Johnson’s seat is open.”
Scott Walker Says He May Run Again
Departing Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) told the Associated Press that he’s keeping his campaign accounts open and wouldn’t rule out running for governor again in four years.
He also said he would consider running for U.S. Senate in 2022 to replace Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who has said he would not seek a third term.
GOP Candidate Holds Event for ‘Above Average People’
An invite that appeared to have been sent from the campaign of Wisconsin state Sen. Leah Vukmir (R), who’s running against Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), promoted a fundraising event for “above average people,” The Hill reports.
For $500, attendees are invited to “relax amongst other above average people while enjoying hors d’oeuvres and refreshments” on Sept. 5.
Wisconsin Democrats Fear Another Debacle
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) “wants everyone to know she could lose. It’s an unusual message for any candidate, but the liberal Democrat from Wisconsin is sounding the alarm after Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer effectively declared the first-term senator a favorite to keep her seat in November by leaving her off their lists of top-tier Senate races,” Politico reports.
“After their pronouncements, major outside groups in both parties skipped Wisconsin in their initial $120 million of spending planned for this fall — triggering fears among state Democrats that the party will take victory for granted. But there’s palpable concern here among Democrats — and Baldwin especially — that Wisconsin is ripe for a repeat of 2016, when Donald Trump carried the state by less than a percentage point and GOP Sen. Ron Johnson surged to a surprise reelection behind a flood of late spending from conservative groups.”
Baldwin Leads In Re-Election Race
A new Marquette Law School poll in Wisconsin shows Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) ahead of GOP challengers Leah Vukmir (R), 49% to 40%, and Kevin Nicholson (R), 50% to 39%.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Those veterans that are out there in the Democrat party, I question their cognitive thought process because the bottom line is, they’re signing up to defend the Constitution that their party is continually dragging through the mud.”
— Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Nicholson (R), in an interview on WTMJ.
Bruising GOP Primary Fights Worry Party Leaders
“In many parts of the country, Republican candidates are trying to put distance between themselves and President Trump. In the Indiana Senate primary, the bruising fight is over which candidate is the more authentically Trumpian,” the New York Times reports.
“As the May 8 primary election approaches, the race here has taken a nasty turn, with candidates attacking one another as insufficiently aligned with the president, or way too late to Team Trump. Some Republicans worry that the tenor has the potential to bloody the winner so badly that he will be weakened in the general election contest against Sen. Joe Donnelly, one of this election year’s most vulnerable Democrats.”
“The Indiana primary is among several, including those in West Virginia and Wisconsin, where Republicans are locked in nominating battles in states Mr. Trump won in 2016 and where the party has hoped to add to its slender two-seat majority.”
GOP Candidate’s Parents Max Out to His Opponent
Just months after Kevin Nicholson (R) announced his bid to run against incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Nicholson’s own parents donated the legal maximum to Baldwin’s primary campaign, CNN reports.
Explained Nicholson: “My parents have a different worldview than I do, and it is not surprising that they would support a candidate like Tammy Baldwin who shares their perspective.”
Will Rural Voters Swing Back?
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McCain and Feingold Now Riding a Big Money Wave
Sen. John McCain and former Sen. Russ Feingold are now benefiting from the campaign donations they once fought so fiercely against, Politico reports.
“Supporters of Sen. McCain (R-AZ), seeking a sixth term after 30 years in the Senate, have boosted his campaign through a super PAC specifically designed to run ads on his behalf, financed almost entirely by six-figure donations from Wall Street titans and other corporate executives. Feingold, the former Senate Democrat trying to reclaim his old seat in Wisconsin, has been boosted by outside groups financed through ‘dark money’ committees that don’t reveal their donors.”
Feingold Says Campaign Was Infiltrated
“An apparent Republican activist tried to join Democrat Russ Feingold’s team this week in what Feingold’s campaign suspects was a plot to dig up dirt on him,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
