It’s time for Ron Johnson to go back to the whiteboard.
In the latest Marquette University Law Poll, Johnson, R-Wis., is trailing his challenger, former Sen. Russ Feingold, again. Forty-seven percent of respondents said they’d vote for Feingold, while only 41 percent said the same about Johnson, with 8 percent lacking a preference.
Johnson has never led in a poll this election season — so much for incumbent advantage.
While there is still plenty of time left for Johnson to make up that ground, every election indicator points to him not being able to win over Wisconsinites.
The first is Johnson’s low favorability, which is a good indicator of whether the candidate will win over independent voters. Johnson is far behind Feingold. Forty-six percent of voters view Feingold favorably compared to a mere 34 percent for Johnson.
Part of his low favorability might be connected with his utter lack of charisma. He’s dry, bland and boring, and is not able to effectively explain to voters what it is he does in the Senate or why he’s even important there.
Second is Johnson’s lack of care for the average person. When asked if Johnson “cares about people like me,” only 36 percent said he did, while 43 percent said he did not. Conversely, 50 percent of respondents said Feingold cared about them, while only 32 percent said he didn’t. Johnson can’t connect with people. He doesn’t seem to empathize with the plight of the common man or understand the views of others.
Last is Feingold’s strength with the Democratic base and independent voters. In the Marquette poll, Feingold has locked up 84 percent support from Wisconsin’s Democrats compared with Johnson’s lock of 80 percent of Republicans. Feingold’s clinch on Democratic support is especially key since the upcoming election includes the presidential race. Presidential elections show greater turnout, and in Wisconsin, more of these voters tend to vote Democratic.
Take, for example, the last two Senate elections of 2010 and 2012. In 2010, a non-presidential election cycle, Feingold only received 1.02 million votes compared to Johnson’s 1.15 million. In 2012, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., defeated former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson with 1.54 million votes to 1.38 million votes, respectively.
It’s not merely coincidence that Johnson is having trouble in this election. With a wider, Democratic voting block, Johnson is bound to lose to Feingold. There’s no Tea Party movement to bail Johnson out this election cycle.
Aaron Reilly ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in social work and economics.
