by Bruce Walker
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has eked out a reelection victory over former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes by 1 percentage point.
Johnson earned 50.5% of the vote, compared to Barnes’ 49.5%. Johnson declared victory on Wednesday but at noon, The Associated Press was among those yet to call it; CBS and NBC were among those projected Johnson the winner.
“The votes are in,” Johnson said in a published statement. “There is no path mathematically for Lt. Gov. Barnes to overcome his 27,374 vote deficit. This race is over.”
Barnes planned a news conference at noon in Milwaukee.
The race is pivotal for control of the U.S. Senate, with Republicans’ backs against the wall in election outcomes. The morning began with Democrats holding a 48-47 lead, and the Badger State one of five still to be determined. A runoff in Georgia on Dec. 6 looked all but a lock, and the West Wing controls a tie-breaker vote should it remain 50-50 split.
Consensus nationwide in the run-up to the election put Johnson as vulnerable as any Republican senator. A projected “red wave” never materialized Tuesday evening and the GOP was dealt a stinging setback earlier Wednesday morning when the red seat in Pennsylvania of Sen. Pat Toomey flipped blue on the strength of John Fetterman’s win over Dr. Mehmet Oz.
The rancorous battle between the two Wisconsin candidates focused on increasing crime rates, with Johnson attacking Barnes’ statements favoring eliminating cash bail and lightening parole restrictions. Barnes campaigned heavily on abortion rights, and attempted to depict Johnson as out-of-touch with women voters.
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Bruce Walker is a regional editor at The Center Square. He previously worked as editor at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s MichiganScience magazine and The Heartland Institute’s InfoTech & Telecom News.
Photo “Mandela Barnes” by Mandela Barnes.
