Early campaign for Wisconsin’s US Senate seat heats up

OSHKOSH, Wis. (WBAY) - We’re a long way from the 2022 November election, but you might have noticed an active campaign underway for Wisconsin’s US Senate seat, now held by Republican Ron Johnson.

Three Democrats have declared so far and Monday the most recent one to announce, met with supporters here in Northeast Wisconsin.

During a stop in Oshkosh, Sarah Godlewski was critical of Johnson.

She’s hoping to generate support in a race which won’t even be on the ballot for almost a year and a half.

“We’ve been traveling all over the state because it’s really important to understand the issues, and right now they don’t have a voice in Washington that really represents Wisconsin and so we’re starting this campaign early so we can talk, we can listen, build trust and make sure their voices are represented in DC,” she said.

Godlewski joins Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, along with Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, who declared his intention to run back in February.

“We’re not just talking about racial and social justice, we’ve been on the front lines,” said Lasry during a February interview with Action 2 News.

Senator Ron Johnson held a town hall meeting Monday afternoon by phone.

The very first question, was whether he would run for a third term.

So far Johnson says he’s undecided.

“From my stand point, these campaigns are far too long. The campaigns spend way too much money, and just looking to see how things play out and I’m biding my time to make a final decision,” Johnson stated.

Afterwards, Nelson weighed in on that response.

“He’s talking about how people are campaigning too early. The reason he is upset about that, is because he’s losing. We did a poll that shows we’re beating Ron Johnson by four points,” said Nelson.

Voters won’t even weigh in for the first time, until August 17th, of next year, which is the date for Wisconsin’s partisan primary, and by then even more names could be on the ballot.

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