It was the last stop on the “Barnes for Barns” tour of rural Wisconsin, aimed at attracting voters who usually feed Republicans’ victories into this narrowly divided state. Discussion at Hinchley’s Dairy Farm with an invited group of farmers covered the expected issues – climate change, affordable health care, a worrying increase in farmer suicides and a reduction in the small dairy farms known for Wisconsin. But he continued to return to a key question: How do you beat Ron Johnson, the incumbent Republican? “We are appearing,” said Barnes, the state’s vice governor. “We talk to people directly about the challenges they face and that Ron Johnson was constantly unaware of. “I think one of the biggest problems is a lot outside of Milwaukee, and Madison just hasn’t seen enough Democrats.” Johnson’s beating has angered Democrats since the former plastics maker took to the stage as an outsider at the tea party in 2010 and defeated Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold and did so again in 2016. On the way, Johnson became one of the most Donald Trump’s vocalists – and his most hated opponents – supporters. Johnson was first elected as a fiscal conservative, known for attacking spending and wanting to cut national debt. His campaign ads contained many striped charts and graphs. In recent years, as the coronavirus has risen and Trump has fallen, he has become a lightning rod as he took anti-scientific positions and embraced conspiracy theories for the 2020 election. Johnson has increased unproven treatments for COVID-19, such as oral solution, and challenged the need for COVID-19 vaccines. Rejected climate change as a “bull——”. He joined the many Republicans who downplayed the US Capitol Uprising on January 6, 2021, saying he was not afraid of the insurgents, but would be concerned if they were Black Lives Matter protesters. Overall, Johnson voted in favor of a huge tax cut that he recently acknowledged benefited his business and wealthy campaign sponsors. blocked proposals to distribute $ 1,200 stimulus checks to Americans. and argued against landing a federal convention that would bring hundreds of jobs to Wisconsin. Now, with the Senate in control and Wisconsin at risk amid a handful of upside-down states, Johnson is coming to the polls with a strong conservative base and poor polls for a Democratic president whose party has historically lost the midterm elections. However, Democrats are still optimistic that Johnson – who scored 33% in February in a Marquette University Law School poll – is more vulnerable now than ever. Democrat General Joe Zeppey said Johnson “benefited from two very good Republican years in ’10 and ’16. Can benefit from one again. The challenge is how to offset this trend. ” He added: “I think we can do it. He gave us enough grind for the mill “. Democrats plan to portray Johnson as a different man than he was elected in 2010, someone who was turned from a foreign businessman worried about national debt into, as Zepecki calls him, “a crank fueled by conspiracy theories.” They hope that Johnson’s most inflammatory comments will greatly discourage the moderate Republicans who ousted Trump in the Milwaukee suburbs and enough of the approximately 7% of independent voters to turn things around. The desire to defeat Johnson has, for the time being, largely united the top Democrats in the Senate race ahead of the Aug. 9 general election. Alex Lasry, a Milwaukee Bucks executive – his father, Mark, who owns part of it – has spent millions on television commercials as he tried organized labor and attacked Johnson as a laborer. State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski portrays Johnson as an unknown extremist in her ads. Approved by Emily’s List. Outagamie County executive Tom Nelson follows the money, but leads the way in cleverness, cutting creative online videos that include a garage sale fundraiser (his $ 10 dinosaur kids toy). Barnes, who is black, leads the democratic field in money, approvals and early polls. Aside from rural voters, his winning strategy almost certainly depends on activating minority voters in his hometown of Milwaukee – a huge liberal ballot box that is the key to any Democratic nominee across the state. Republicans reject Barnes’s swing in Wisconsin, citing comments he made in the 2018 governor’s race that he has no interest in winning over Trump voters. (Barnes later said he wanted to appeal to all “forgotten” voters.) They also reject the Democrats’ broader strategy of attacking Johnson as extreme, saying similar attacks have failed in his last two races. “At this point, I just do not see the game plan where Republicans are going to leave in large numbers,” said GOP long-term strategist Brandon Scholz. “This is a 50-50 state. “In a competitive match, if both sides do their job, someone will win by one or two points.” Johnson’s campaign spokesman Jake Wilkins said the senator’s strategy for winning was to “work hard and just tell the truth.” “The strategy of the Democrats is obvious,” Wilkins said. “They will continue to lie and distort his record and take what he says out of context to falsely portray his stance on issues. “His biggest challenges will be the massive spending by liberal outside groups and the partisan liberal media that support the Democrats by promoting the message and agenda of the radical left.” “If Johnson can maintain the same margins that Trump did in more rural Wisconsin and perform just as well in Milwaukee counties as he did in 2016, he will win,” said Republican General Keith Gilks, who was the former governor. Walker. first campaign. In addition, Wisconsin has a long history of electing naughty politicians – such as Feingold and Joseph McCarthy, the embarrassed communist hunter whom many on the left compare more and more to Johnson. Johnson has not always had the full support of the established Republican Party, but with so much on the line this year that it does not seem to be disputed. The Senate Leadership Fund, a leading Republican super PAC, is “all the way” to re-elect Johnson, his spokesman Jack Pandol said. Johnson could also take advantage of the big Democratic primary, where millions have already been spent and Republicans are hoping the winner will have to move so far to the left to win, he or she will appear cashless and bruised. If the economy and inflation remain top issues for voters this fall, Johnson will win, said Gilks, the Republican general. “If it’s not about what the current debate is about, people just don’t care,” Gilkes said. “I think Trump proved that in 2016. There are a lot of sad comments the president made and he still wins.”