JANESVILLE, Wis.—The stakes could not be bigger in the Nov. 8 midterm elections than Republican Sen. Ron Johnson’s battle to fend off Democrat Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes in a race that will be a key to determining which party controls the U.S. Senate, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said on Nov. 7.
“Let me tell you, this is not just about the people of Wisconsin,” Haley told about 200 supporters on the final day of Johnson’s 3,000-mile statewide bus tour. “This is about all of America. They’re counting on you.
“Because when they look at these Senate seats, they need to know that you’re gonna bring it through,” Haley said. “They’re trying to bring through Georgia; they’re trying to bring through New Hampshire. But everybody’s trying to make sure we hold onto Wisconsin.”
First elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, Johnson finds himself in a tight race, as outside third-parties pour money into ad buys seeking to swing the vote toward Wisconsin’s Democrat lieutenant governor. The attack ads rap Johnson for his pro-life stance and accuse him of animus toward homosexuals.
Many election observers believe that as goes Wisconsin in this marquee matchup, so goes control of the United States Senate.
Turnout is expected to be high, as state voters also decide a governor’s race between one-term incumbent Democrat Tony Evers and Republican construction business owner Tim Michels.
Haley Outlines Pain Points
Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, stepped off Johnson’s bright green campaign motor coach in front of the Pontiac Convention Center in this city of 65,000 people about 40 miles south of Madison.She ticked off a litany of pain points uppermost in the minds of many conservative voters: the cost of food and gasoline, unbridled illegal immigration across an undefended southern border, massive spending by the Democrat-controlled Congress, and woke politics that have supplanted academic achievement in favor of gender pronouns, equity, and critical race theory.
“Sixty percent of Americans are now in credit card debt,” Haley said, “and a third of our small businesses—the heartbeat of our economy—a third of small business owners in America could not make their rent payment in October. This is gonna hurt.”
“But you know what the Democrats are doing? They’re spending like drunken sailors,” Haley said.
Haley took aim at fellow Republicans who dug into the trough while COVID-inspired payments were being dished out.
“Republicans kind of jumped into earmarks too. Twelve million dollars on a baseball stadium in New York. Fifteen million dollars for New Jersey to get the World Cup. Six and a half million dollars for golf courses in Colorado,” Haley said. “A billion dollars in stimulus payments to federal prison inmates. Twenty billion with a B to illegal immigrants. You know who didn’t ask for a single earmark? Ron Johnson.”
Haley wasn’t ready to declare victory for Johnson or other Republicans just yet, saying turnout will be the key.
“I’m not going to talk about the red wave, because I’m still nervous,” Haley said. “And I will tell you this, the only way we get a red wave is if turnout is high, and if our people turn out more than the Democrats. It matters.”
Haley called on everyone to contact family, friends and neighbors to make sure they know where to vote and have a way to get to the polls and back.
“If we turn out in Wisconsin, America will thank you. If we turn out in a way that’s strong, this is the beginning of us righting the ship and getting America back on track,” Haley said.
“And if we win this election, we need to make sure our House members and our senators understand there’s no saying we wait till 2024. We get to work immediately.”
Johnson struck at the Democrat Party for its leftward lurch, focus on alleged institutional racism, and policies Republicans say have left a trail of destruction since Joe Biden was sworn in as president. Johnson referred to President Biden as the “divider in chief.”
‘We Need to Heal’
“And all these things have weakened this nation. But I would argue nothing has weakened America more than the division the Democrats, and now President Biden, are exacerbating. We need to unify. We need to heal,” Johnson said.Johnson said he believes most Wisconsinites, regardless of party affiliation, love America. He asked supporters to reach across the party divide and ask their Democrat friends and neighbors to vote with the GOP.
“Ask them to join us. I mean genuinely, sincerely ask them to join us in healing and unifying this country,” Johnson said.
Despite all of the issues being discussed and the importance of truth versus lies, Johnson said this historic midterm election is ultimately about a higher ideal.
“What this election is about, what I would I say, [is] that one essential ingredient. It’s what all of you use every day you wake up and go to work, or stay home, raise your family and work from home,” Johnson said. “It’s called freedom. And you use that freedom to dream and aspire and build and create this marvel.”
