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Wisconsin Democrats are aiming to flip Ron Johnson's seat blue in November's midterm race, with recent polls showing the GOP senator may face an uphill battle for reelection.

Johnson announced in January that he would seek a third Senate term despite previously pledging not to serve more than two terms. Meanwhile, recent polls show that more Wisconsin voters view the senator unfavorably than those who view him favorably. President Joe Biden won the swing state in the 2020 presidential election after Democrats flipped the governor's mansion blue for Tony Evers in 2018.

It's still unclear which Democrat will face off against Johnson on November 8. Wisconsin's primaries will be held August 9, with the top four Democratic contenders being Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, businessman Alex Lasry and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.

A new poll released this week and conducted from June 14 to 20 by Marquette Law School showed the incumbent narrowly losing to all of the Democratic challengerswith the exception of Lasry. The poll surveyed 803 registered voters.

In a matchup with Barnes, Johnson had the support of 44 percent of voters, compared with 46 percent who backed the lieutenant governor. In a head-to-head contest with Godlewski, the Republican was backed by 43 percent, compared with the treasurer's 45 percent. Pitted against Nelson, Johnson was at 43 percent and the Democrat at 44 percent. Only Lasry came in behind the senator, at 42 percent, compared with the 45 percent who supported Johnson.

The same poll showed Barnes as the leader among the Democratic candidates for their party's nomination, at 25 percent. Lasry came in second at 21 percent. Both Godlewski and Nelson had single-digit support.

Notably, the survey also found that 46 percent of Wisconsin voters viewed Johnson unfavorably, compared with just 37 percent who viewed him favorably. Those results closely aligned with a similar poll conducted by Marquette Law School in April. At that time, 46 percent viewed the incumbent unfavorably, and just 36 percent viewed him favorably.

The April survey also showed that half of Wisconsin's voters do not believe Johnson cares about them. Poll respondents were asked: "Please tell me whether the following statement describes Ron Johnson, or not.... He is someone who cares about people like me." Fully 50 percent of voters said the statement "does not describe" the senator. Only 39 percent said it described him correctly.

A previous poll, conducted last September by Clarity Campaign Labs for Barnes' campaign, showed the Democrat tied with Johnson. Both politicians were backed by 43 percent of likely voters. In March 2021, Nelson's campaign carried out a survey with Change Research that showed him leading the Republican by 4 points among likely voters.

Biden narrowly beat Donald Trump in Wisconsin by a margin of 0.7 percent. The Democratic president garnered the support of 49.5 percent of Wisconsinites, compared with 48.8 percent that went for Trump. The former president had carried the state by a 0.7 percent margin in 2016. Before that, Wisconsin had gone for Democrats in every presidential election going back to 1988.

Evers won the governorship in Wisconsin in 2018 by beating out his Republican opponent by a margin of 1.1 percent. The Democratic governor garnered the support of 49.6 of voters, while his GOP rival, incumbent Scott Walker, received the backing of just 48.5 percent.

The June poll by Marquette Law School shows that Biden's approval rating is deep underwater with Wisconsin voters, while Evers' approval rating remains above water. Well over half (57 percent) of voters in the state say they disapprove of the job Biden is doing, and just 40 percent approve. However, that's still slightly higher than the 36 percent who view Johnson favorably. By comparison, 48 percent of Wisconsinites say they approve of their Democratic governor, and only 45 percent say they disapprove.

Whether Democrats are capable of flipping Johnson's seat in November remains to be seen. The liberal party views the GOP senator as one of the most vulnerable going into the midterms because of their successes in the state in 2018 and 2020, as well as his low favorability with voters.

As the Senate is evenly split, Democrats aim to shore up their narrow control of the legislative chamber, while Republicans hope to shift it back under their leadership. If Democrats lose even one seat in November without simultaneously gaining another, Republicans will again hold the majority in the Senatemaking the stakes of any close races exceptionally high for both political parties.

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Democrats' Chances of Beating Ron Johnson in Wisconsin, According to Polls - Newsweek

President Joe Bidens effort to trash the patriotic MAGA movement reveals the desperation of a flailing and floundering administration, according to former Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence responded to Bidens attacks on the movement, known by the acronym for former President Donald Trumps Make America Great Again slogan, during an interview with Fox News on Saturday prior to speaking at Patrick Henry College in Virginia.

Let me tell you about this ultra MAGA agenda. Its extreme, as most MAGA things are, Biden said during a news conference last week.

What are the next things that are going to be attacked? Because this MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization thats existed in American history in recent American history, he said.

Pences defense came despite efforts to paint him as a critic of the MAGA movement following the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when some narratives pointed to the then-vice president as a target of those who stormed the Capitol.

With all due respect, President Biden sounds desperate, Pence said. It sounds like the rhetoric of an administration grasping for straws.

I mean, look, the presidents approval rating speaks for itself. He is exploring the bowels of American approval numbers in modern history. And its because the American people see the failed policies of this administration at home and abroad, he said.

Pence said Bidens efforts to trash the MAGA movement smeared millions of Americans.

Do you agree with Pence?

Yes: 99% (224 Votes)

No: 1% (2 Votes)

And I think theres no amount of, you know, any effort by this administration to demean the 74 million people that supported this [MAGA] movement. And millions of Americans who know our economy can be strong, our borders can be secure, and that America can be respected on the world stage and our values can be respected in our courts, [values] that they love, he said, according to Fox News.

The former vice president said Biden will spur MAGA supporters to even more activism by demeaning them.

That kind of rhetoric [by Biden] will only serve to motivate people that share our values and our vision for the country to turn out to vote, Pence said.

Now with regard to its impact on elections, I must tell you that, look, the failed policies of the Biden administration are almost too many to recount, he said. The disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the emboldening of the enemies of freedom around the world. The inflation at a 40-year high, the worst border crisis in history, a crime wave in our cities. All are a testament to the failed left-wing policies of the Biden administration.

And I fully expect that voters are going to carry their strong feelings about that into the voting booth.

Pence said the renewed debate over abortion that has come amid a leaked draft opinion that indicates five justices could support overturning the Roe v. Wade decision crystallizes the differences between parties.

I honestly believe that there is no more important issue in the life of the nation than the sanctity of life, he said. And so for me, thats where this debate lies.

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Pence Takes Massive Stand for MAGA, Blasts Biden's Charges Against ...

WASHINGTON The fate of a sycophant is never a happy one.

At first, you think that fawning over the boss is a good way to move forward. But when you are dealing with a narcissist and narcissists are the ones who like to be surrounded by sycophants you can never be unctuous enough.

Narcissists are Grand Canyons of need. The more they are flattered, the more their appetite for flattery grows.

That is the hard, almost fatal, lesson Pence learned on Jan. 6, when he finally stood up to Donald Trump after Trump asked for one teensy favor: Help destroy American democracy and all we stand for.

Two new photos shown at a hearing of the House committee investigating Jan. 6 tell a shocking story one of the most incredible in our nations history.

In one, Karen Pence is protectively pulling a gold-fringed curtain shut in the vice presidents ceremonial office in the Capitol, off the Senate floor, as Pence sitting beneath a large gilt mirror stares off into space, probably wondering where it all went wrong.

We learned this week that when the vice president fled down the stairs, followed by an Air Force officer carrying the nuclear launch codes, the marauding mob was a few feet from him.

In a second picture, taken after Pence was brought to a secure location in an underground garage, his daughter Charlotte is anxiously watching him. He is holding a phone to his ear as he stares at another phone showing a video of Trump professing love for the crowd, which included some who carried baseball bats and zip ties and chanted Hang Mike Pence!

In the early afternoon, as the crowd tore down barricades and fought police, White House staffers worried things were getting out of hand, as Sarah Matthews, a Trump aide, testified.

They thought that the president needed to tweet something immediately. At 2:24 p.m., they got a notification that the president had indeed tweeted. But it was not the calming tweet they had hoped for; it was one designed to drive the rioters into a frenzy.

Mike Pence didnt have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify, Trump tweeted. USA demands the truth!

As Matthews recalled in her deposition, The situation was already bad, and so it felt like he was pouring gasoline on the fire by tweeting that.

Trump was still steaming from the contentious morning phone call when he failed to persuade the vice president to reject some of the states electors so they could be replaced with fake electors who supported Trump. He had railed at Pence with emasculating epithets.

As Trump recalled in a speech on Friday in Nashville, I said to Mike, If you do this, you can be Thomas Jefferson. And then, after it all went down, I looked at him one day and said, I hate to say this, but youre no Thomas Jefferson.

In the same speech, Trump had another line that was strikingly delusional, even for him. For the radical left, he said, politics has become their religion. It has warped their sense of right and wrong. They dont have a sense of right and wrong, true and false, good and evil.

Trump sparked the mob to seek vengeance against Pence the same way Henry II sparked a crew to murder Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170. According to legend, after Becket defied Henry by excommunicating bishops supportive of the king, Henry muttered something to the effect of, Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest? Four knights immediately rode to Canterbury Cathedral and sliced up Becket.

The line became a famous example of directing loyalists with indirection, cloaking an order as a wish. Who will rid me of this meddlesome vice president?

A Times video, showing how the Proud Boys breached the Capitol, underscored that within the confederacy of dunces, there was an actual organized conspiracy. The group began plotting even before the election to take up arms for Trump. When Trump barked Stand back and stand by about the Proud Boys during his debate with Joe Biden, the Proud Boys felt as though they had received a directive, like Henrys knights.

With each hearing, it becomes clearer that Trump has no plausible deniability. He put the lives of the vice president and his family at risk, as well as the lives of lawmakers, by sending a crowd, stewing in lies, into a frenzy.

Pence did not have the power to do what Trump wanted, and its good that he resisted the insane, illegal and unconstitutional plan of the narcissist in the Oval. But Pence still wants it both ways. He has steered clear of the committee. He wants to become president by staying on the good side of Trump supporters, but theyre never going to forgive him.

At the end of the day of infamy, John Eastman, the nutty lawyer trying to help Trump overturn the election, sent an email imploring Pence to adjourn the congressional certification so sympathetic state legislators could help with Trumps fairy tale of a rigged election.

When Greg Jacob, Pences counsel, showed the email to the vice president, Pence said, Thats rubber room stuff.

The fate of a sycophant is never a happy one.

Originally posted here:
Opinion | Hence, Mike Pence - The New York Times

Former Vice President Mike Pence praised the Supreme Courts ruling overturning Roe v. Wade and with it the constitutional right to abortion access. Today, Life Won, Pence tweeted. By overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court of the United States has given the American people a new beginning for life and I commend the Justices in the majority for having the courage of their convictions.

Pence went on to declare that now that Roe v. Wade has been consigned to the ash heap of history, a new arena in the cause of life has emerged and it is incumbent on all who cherish the sanctity of life to resolve that we will take the defense of the unborn and support for women in crisis pregnancies to every state Capitol in America. Having been given this second chance for Life, we must not rest and must not relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the center of American law in every state in the land.

The call for a new era of anti-choice activism aimed at stripping legal abortion access across all 50 states is already well under way. Thirteen states are now poised to ban legal abortion access virtually entirely through trigger laws, with many states seeking not only to ban abortion but to criminalize those who provide and seek abortion services.

More here:
Mike Pence Calls for National Abortion Ban - Rolling Stone

Pence had a chance many chances during the Trump administration to earn his heros ribbon. In November 2020, as Trump irrationally disputed the election outcome, Pence could have spoken the truth against the mendacious president. Such a move would surely have diminished Trumps plan to persuade congressional Republicans to contest the election results. Pence had another chance for a heroic turn in the days after Jan. 6 when Secretary of Education Betsy Devos sounded out others in the administration about invoking the 25th Amendment. Such a challenge, backed by a majority of the cabinet and the vice president, would have relieved Trump of his presidential powers and put Pence in charge. But he declined.

Instead of doing any of these things, Pence searched for a way to satisfy Trumps order to invalidate the election, according to Bob Woodward and Robert Costas Peril. To that end, Pence asked fellow Hoosier and former Vice President Dan Quayle if there was any way he could pause certification. Theres not much heroism at work when a blockhead, caught in a squeeze by his boss, asks a dunce for advice. Either Pence was looking for a way to satisfy Trumps order to invalidate the election or he wanted more assurances he couldnt do it. Regardless, as luck would have it, Quayle performed above his weight class and delivered the correct verdict. Mike, you have no flexibility on this. None. Zero. Forget it. Put it away, Quayle reportedly said.

Before the melee of Jan. 6, Pences office contacted retired federal judge Michael Luttig for his legal advice, which dittoed Quayles. Pence sought these outside opinions when not even Eastman, the architect of the argument to overturn the election, believed his theory was legal. Remember, he confessed to that in front of Pences counsel! Likewise, Pence deserves little credit for inserting himself into the chain of command to demand military defense of the Capitol. Since when is the guy who calls 911 a hero?

Pence is less a hero than he is a tragic figure whose flaws undid him. His vain desire for political power led him to support Trump and then toady to him for four years no matter what he did. Even now, when its abundantly apparent that Trump attempted to undo the peaceful transfer of power and effectively endorsed his veeps murder, Pence holds his silence, declining the Jan. 6 committees invitation to testify and avoiding the subject on the political hustings except to say he thinks he did the right thing. Just last week, my POLITICO colleague Adam Wren noted on Twitter, reporters tried to ask Pence Jan. 6 questions during an Ohio energy roundtable. His aides escorted him out of the room. A genuine hero would speak the truth, no matter the consequences. Imagine the stories Pence could tell under oath about the week of Jan. 6 if even a microgram of the heroic lurked in his soul.

What to make of Pences timidity? The best explanation might be his presidential ambitions, sketched out by the Wall Street Journal last week. The Republican Party is still in thrall to Trump, and if Pence wants any chance of winning the GOP nomination in 2024, he cant fully break with the leader of the cult. Perhaps he thinks this middle path will provide a viable path to the presidency, but its just as likely hell infuriate voters on both sides of the aisle.

Pence did the right thing on Jan. 6, but it didnt make him a hero. Please cancel the parade.

******

Pence has become the new Quayle, a pathetic veep whose president lost reelection, leaving him an opening to run (unsuccessfully) for president. Send your favorite Pence moment to [emailprotected]. My email alerts are taking no new subscribers. My Twitter feed wants to be my RSS feeds veep. My RSS feed says, Nothing doing, pal.

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Opinion | The Tragedy of Mike Pence - POLITICO - POLITICO