Democratic group runs ad hitting Ron Johnson over Trump 2017 tax bill

Democratic group Opportunity Wisconsin launched a new ad hitting incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) over his support for former President Trump’s 2017 tax legislation. 

The group, which spent $4.5 million on ads hitting Johnson last year, specifically takes issue with changes he championed for the legislation that would enact lower tax rates for businesses whose owners report their profits on their individual tax returns.

The ad, first viewed by The Hill, alleges the changes to the legislation that were pushed by Johnson benefited his own family business. 

It will air on broadcast, cable and digital platforms in the Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay and Wausau media markets. 

“Everything seems to be more expensive these days. Everything costs more. Ron Johnson should be helping families like us, but he seems to have helped himself instead,” the 30-second ad’s narrator, a mother from the Madison area, says. 

“An investigation found that Ron Johnson pushed through a special tax loophole that benefited his own family’s business,” she continued. “Then he cashed out of the company for 5 million dollars. He’s doubled his wealth since taking office.”

The investigation referred to in the ad was conducted by the Congressional Integrity Project, which suggested in 2020 that Johnson’s changes to the 2017 tax legislation would have benefited businesses like Pacur LLC, which Johnson previously owned and held a financial stake in until 2020. 

Last week, Johnson hit back against claims that he tried to carve out a tax deal, calling it “absurd and false.” 

“My actions were not targeted to benefit a few, but designed to help the many, the roughly 95% of all Wisconsin and U.S. businesses – and the tens of millions of hard working people they employ,” Johnson wrote on WisFacts.com, a website powered by his reelection campaign. 

“Had it not been for me, Main Street businesses would have been left behind and found it very difficult to compete with the big guys,” Johnson continued. 

The ad is the latest to hit the Wisconsin airwaves ahead of November’s midterm elections. Last week, Johnson released two new ads touting his work with a Milwaukee-based faith initiative. And on Monday, Democratic Senate candidate Sarah Godlewski released her first television ad of the campaign. 

Johnson is facing what stands to be a competitive reelection bid in Wisconsin. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as a “toss-up.” A Marquette University survey released last week showed Johnson with a 33 percent favorable rating and a 45 percent unfavorable rating. 

However, Johnson has a strong support base among the state’s conservative grassroots, and the crowded Senate Democratic primary, which is set to take place in August, could leave the incumbent in a stronger position. 

The same Marquette survey showed Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) leading that primary field with 23 percent support, with Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry trailing at 13 percent support, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson garnering 5 percent support and state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski 3 percent.