Senate Democrats release first TV attack ad against Johnson in Wisconsin

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has launched its first TV ad attacking Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who announced on Sunday that he will run for reelection. 

In the new ad, called “Himself,” the DSCC describes Johnson as a self-serving politician who has pushed for laws that will benefit him and his wealthy political donors.

“In the Senate, Johnson pushed a law that ‘benefited him financially,’ created a special tax break that helped his top donors, and Johnson’s net worth doubled,” DSCC’s new ad said. 

“But while Johnson’s been helping himself, he’s been hurting Wisconsin families. Rewarding companies that outsource to China. Voting to raise health care costs and against veterans’ benefits.” 

DSCC spokesperson Amanda Sherman Baity ripped Johnson, who had previously said he would only serve two terms in the Senate, in a statement on Sunday.  

“When he’s not manipulating the tax code that enriched himself and his political allies, he’s voting to spike the cost of health care for working families, rewarding companies that outsource jobs to China and opposing the bipartisan infrastructure plan that will rebuild the state,” Baity said. 

“At every opportunity, Johnson is looking for one person: himself — and that’s exactly why Wisconsin voters will fire him in 2022,” she added. 

The Hill has reached out to Johnson’s campaign for comment.

Johnson’s reelection bid sets up a high-stakes Senate battle in a key swing state.

Among the Democrats running in the race are Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson

In a statement on his decision to run for a third term, Johnson, who is in his second term, said he would prefer to retire but felt compelled to fight the “disastrous policies” of Democrats. 

“During the 2016 campaign, I said it would be my last campaign and final term. That was my strong preference, and my wife’s—we both looked forward to a normal private life,” he wrote. 

“Neither of us anticipated the Democrats’ complete takeover of government and the disastrous policies they have already inflicted on America and the world, to say nothing of those they threaten to enact in the future,” he wrote in The Wall Street Journal.

Johnson is a close ally of former President Trump, who narrowly lost Wisconsin in 2020. The senator has also made headlines for a series of provocative and outright false comments in recent years. 

Last year, he commented that “mouthwash has been proven to kill the coronavirus” and questioned “the point” of vaccines if fully vaccinated individuals can still catch COVID-19.

He has also been a vocal proponent of an election “audit” in Wisconsin and praised rioters who stormed the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as people who “love this country.”