Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) on Wednesday ripped radical Democrat Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) for refusing to admit defeat.
“The votes are in. In all Democrat strongholds, municipalities are reporting 100% of wards are in and counted,” Johnson said in a press release. “There is no path mathematically for Lt. Gov. Barnes to overcome his 27,374 vote deficit. This race is over.”
Johnson questioned whether Barnes would accept the election result. “Will you accept defeat trailing by 27,000 votes?” Johnson asked. “In 2020, Joe Biden claimed victory in Wisconsin with a 20,000 vote margin.”
Johnson said the outstanding votes left to be counted are from red-leaning districts. “There are some counties that have anywhere from 3-10% of the votes outstanding. These localities represent areas where we are winning by over 60%.”
The Wisconsin race was called just before 3 AM on Wednesday by
The projection was significant because Wisconsin was one of 21 Republican-controlled seats up for election. Democrats only had 14 seats to defend. Wisconsin, along with North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, was among the most competitive Republican seats to hold.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) congratulated Johnson on his victory on Wednesday.
“Ron is a tireless advocate for small businesses and the hardworking people of Wisconsin,” he said in a statement. “He brings commonsense solutions to the Senate and always fights to protect and defend the security of our homeland and our priorities abroad, and deeply cares about the betterment of his state.”
The Badger State Senate race was the fifth most expensive Senate race at $185,811,066, according to Open Secrets. Barnes’s spent over $96 million of donor cash to unseat Johnson.
Johnson defeated Barnes by highlighting his soft-on-crime record and lead in in the polls since mid-September,
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.