A majority of likely voters in Wisconsin said they would vote to reelect Republican Sen. Ron Johnson in a poll released on Wednesday, gaining momentum since the September New Marquette Law School poll.
The poll showed that 52 percent of the likely voters would support Johnson in his reelection effort, while only 46 percent would support Wisconsin’s Democrat Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes. Only three percent of the likely voters would vote for neither, did not know, or refused to answer.
In the September poll, Johnson was leading Barnes by only one percent, 49 percent to 48 percent.
Johnson’s current six-point lead is outside the 4.8 percent margin of error and was conducted from October 3 to 9, where 652 likely voters in Wisconsin were asked the polling questions.
Ben Voelkel, a senior advisor to the Johnson campaign, told Breitbart News:
This campaign has always been about truth versus lies and distortions. The contrast in this race is clear: Ron Johnson is talking about the issues voters care about around the state of Wisconsin, while Lt. Gov. Barnes continues to lie and distract from his extreme record of supporting defunding the police, abolishing ICE, and reckless tax-and-spend policies that have driven us into a recession and made us less safe.
The polling memo noted that of the 652 likely voters, 596 interviews were done before the debate between the U.S. Senate candidates on October 7.
During the debate last Friday, Johnson slammed Barnes on numerous topics, such as allowing 15 percent of Wisconsin’s inmate population out of jail on parole and inciting the 2020 Kenosha riot.
On the other hand, Barnes openly showed his more radical side:
- He claimed that the “climate crisis is already here” and “impacting places all over the country and globe,” which is why he wants to work towards a “clean energy economy.”
- Barnes said he wanted to politicize the Supreme Court by instituting term limits.
Additionally, it was widely reported that Barnes lied by saying he had two endorsements from two active-duty police officers. However, only days later, Barnes’ endorsements came forward and said they did not actually support the Democrat’s Senate campaign, while 51 Wisconsin sheriffs, in a bipartisan effort, endorsed Johnson’s campaign.
In the past, the Democrat pushed the notion that the public needs to defund the “over-bloated” police departments and has been pictured with an “abolish ICE” shirt, which referred to the movement to get rid of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department.
Additionally, in 2020, he claimed that “police don’t prevent crimes from happening” and said that it is “unfortunate” prisoners do not have the right to vote. Wisconsin Right Now also reported that during his time as lieutenant governor, he allowed at least 884 convicted criminals back onto the streets by releasing them on parole. The 884 includes 270 murderers and attempted murderers, as well as at least 44 child rapists.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.