The battle in Wisconsin is emblematic of the landscape facing Democrats nationally. Leading candidates – Deputy Prime Minister Mandela Barnes, Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, Wisconsin Treasurer Sarah Godlefski and Nelson – are hoping the anger of the Liberals consumer prices and Biden’s low acceptance rates.
For Democrats, their best bet on coding abortion rights nationwide is to retain the Senate and win at least two seats in the fall, possibly here in Wisconsin and also in Pennsylvania, while maintaining a handful of swing seats and seats. in Parliament. an extremely high class. Then they could possibly have enough support to change Philipaster’s rules next year and pass abortion rights by a simple majority, something that is supported by all of Wisconsin’s leading Democratic candidates. Wisconsin, a perennial battlefield divided between its liberal pockets mainly in the south and conservative rural areas as a whole, has emerged as a zero point in the battle for abortion rights. With the ruling of the Supreme Court, the state now follows a law of 1849 that prohibits abortions and does not provide for exceptions for rape or incest. There are exceptions that are granted to save a woman’s life, but only after the signatures of three doctors – a standard that activists say can be burdensome if not impossible to follow, especially in rural areas. Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, has vowed to show leniency to ensure that access to abortions remains unimpeded. But even that leaves abortion providers unsure if they can trust it to be maintained, as Evers himself faces a difficult re-election and how a new administration would handle the issue is anyone’s guess. “I’m disappointed that my party has not given priority to this and has been trying to do so, and we have had 50 years,” Godlewski said.
In interviews with CNN this week, all the leading Democratic candidates for the Wisconsin Senate tried to show their progressive good faith in abortion. Lasri, 34, said his wife is a senior official in Planned Parenthood Wisconsin. Barnes said his mother had to make the “difficult decision” to have an abortion before she was born. “And if she had to continue her term, that would have created all sorts of extra mental and physical health problems for her. I would not be here today,” Barnes said. All candidates have said they will remove the thread to pass a bill in Congress restoring abortion rights. No one said they supported the restrictions, even in late pregnancy. “It’s not up to a politician to decide,” Barnes told CNN. However, the candidates disagree with the extension of the Supreme Court to the addition of judges. Barnes expresses an honesty – “It’s a discussion I’re more than willing to have” – ​​while Lasri and Godlefski have not embraced it and even Nelson boasts that he is “the only candidate” to support the idea. “I think this is the right solution,” Nelson said. Johnson, a two-term senator, has said he supports the court ruling in overthrowing Roe v. Wade and has sought to divert attention elsewhere. In a local radio interview Wednesday, he was asked about his views on Wisconsin governing and Democratic officials trying to prevent the state from enforcing the 1849 law. Johnson initially called for more media coverage of a Texas smuggling incident that left dozens dead – saying it was “actually much bigger news” – before saying he approved the state’s new approach to abortion. “This really needs to be decided by ‘us humans’ in each state through possibly multiple elections, with state legislators and governors ultimately passing laws in their individual states,” Johnson told the WSAU. “And then over time we will probably develop some sort of consensus at the national level.” It is unclear how the Supreme Court ruling will affect this year’s fight for control of Congress. Inflation remains a major concern for Wisconsin voters, according to a June poll by Marquette Law School, and Biden’s approval rating has dropped to 40%, the lowest in research since he took office.

Biden’s attraction

But even as Democrats see abortion as a top issue, they have to deal with the worst intermediate environment since Johnson first won his Senate race twelve years ago.
Asked if he thought Biden should be a candidate in 2024, Barnes avoided: “Well, I’m focused on this fight right now. We have to get past November 2022. We still have to expand the majority in the US Senate. I’m more I’m very happy to have this discussion after we decide this fight “. “The president must do what is best for him,” Godlewski said when asked if he believed Biden should run for re-election. Lasri, who worked for the Obama White House before his billionaire father bought the Milwaukee Bucks in 2014, said he would support a bid for Biden. “I think if the president wants to be a candidate again, he has to be a candidate again,” Lasri said. Asked if Biden would win the ticket, Barnes added: “This is a supra-local fight. We focus on these issues that affect people at home.” Candidates have their own responsibilities that their critics point out. Lasri, who, like 40-year-old Godlewski, has vast personal fortunes and is heavily funded by his campaign, has come under fire for relocating from New York to take over the Bucks job in 2014. “I do not think New York needs a third senator,” said Nelson, 46.
Lasri defended his move. “Wisconsin is my home, I raise my family here,” he said in an interview at a redevelopment site in Milwaukee. “And what voters are most concerned about is not where someone was, but what someone is going to do and represent them and what they have done.” Barnes, 35, has won the support of some leading liberal voices, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and has already been attacked by Republicans for his immigration and support for ending it. some Democratic critics that would do turn off voters in the middle of the street. Barnes, the state’s first black lieutenant governor and the second African-American to hold office across the state in Wisconsin, scoffed at the idea. “My campaign is the only campaign in the Democratic primary with independent voters. This is the only campaign that has generated all sorts of excitement,” Barnes said. He added: “In an issue such as bail, a person who remains in prison before his trial should not rely on his ability to pay.”

The Johnson controversy

Democrat candidates have struggled to get the status quo and a series of controversial statements – whether it supports hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of Covid-19 or to spread misinformation about the vaccine during the pandemic. Johnson questioned whether Trump supporters were heavily responsible for the violence on January 6, 2021, and was involved in an attempt to send then-Vice President Mike Pence a plate of fake voters the day he presided over its certification. Biden victory.
Democrat rhetoric was sharp, with Barnes and Nelson calling on Johnson to step down and Lasry to say: “If you are trying to bring in literally fake voters to the vice president to ensure that a fair election is overthrown, this is not what she wants. country. and that is treacherous and vindictive. ” Johnson, 67, downplayed or dismissed the criticism – and defended the most recent controversy, saying it was just staff discussions and a “nothing burger” in a story. But on Tuesday, Johnson preached “unity” in a church and praised a religious job program in the city he co-founded years ago, acknowledging that the country’s political divide was affecting him. “As I travel and talk to people, I often ask, ‘Aren’t you tired of all the anger and division?’ Johnson asked. “My God, I am. It’s exhausting. ” “This nation needs healing and unity,” he added. After the event, Johnson closed the back door. Asked by CNN if he could answer a question, he replied: “No.” CNN’s Morgan Rimmer and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.