Wisconsin’s Johnson embraces controversy in reelection bid

By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson has seemed to play with fire at times in his third bid for the seat. The Republican has called for the end of guaranteed money for Medicare and Social Security. He’s also trafficked in conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and dabbled in pseudoscience around the coronavirus. Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes has gone in a safer direction, cultivating an image as a nonthreatening defender of the middle class. Of the races that could decide control of the Senate next year, it’s the only one with an incumbent Republican seeking reelection in a state carried by President Joe Biden.