'Damaging': Wisconsin independents explain why they've turned on Republican Ron Johnson
On Monday, the Associated Press profiled independent voters in Wisconsin who generally lean conservative — but have soured on Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.
Johnson is locked in a tight race with Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes in one of the most closely-watched Senate contests of the election. A recent poll by Marquette University found Johnson with a razor-thin lead after trailing previously, and an improvement with independent voters driving much of that movement. Nevertheless, the report noted, many of these voters are up for grabs — and Johnson is still struggling with them compared to previous years.
"A midterm campaign that the GOP hoped would be a referendum on President Joe Biden and the economy is at risk of becoming a comparison of the two parties, putting Republicans in an unexpectedly defensive position," said the report. "In politically-divided Wisconsin where recent elections have been decided by a few thousand votes, the outcome could hinge on self-described independent voters."
"Independent voters who lean neither Democrat nor Republican nationally preferred Biden over Trump, 52% to 37% in 2020, and preferred Democrats over Republicans in U.S. House races by a similar margin in the 2018 midterms, according to AP VoteCast," reported Tom Beaumont. "Independents had moved toward Republicans by early this year, seeking answers on the economy, said Republican pollster David Winston, a senior adviser to House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy. But they have drifted back toward Democrats as efforts by GOP leaders to focus on the economy have clashed with Republican attacks on the Justice Department and Trump's continuing complaints about the 2020 election."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/damaging-wisconsin-independents-explain-why-they-ve-turned-on-republican-ron-johnson/ar-AA120TUy
= new reply since forum marked as read
