Sen. Ron Johnson said Sunday in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal that he would seek a third term this year.
In a column headlined “Why I’m Seeking a Third Senate Term,” Johnson (R-Wis.) wrote: “I believe America is in peril. Much as I’d like to ease into a quiet retirement, I don’t feel I should.“
Johnson, who ousted Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold in 2010 and then defeated him again in 2016, had pledged he would only serve two terms. His future had been the subject of months of speculation but recent reports indicated he was likely to run again. “It is a decision I haven’t made lightly,” he wrote in Sunday’s column.
Johnson is considered one of the most vulnerable Senate incumbents this year. Among the Democrats seeking the seat are Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, and Steven Olikara, founder of the Millennial Action Project.
“Ron Johnson has spent years in the Senate looking out for himself at the expense of Wisconsinites and failing to do the job he was elected to do, and it’s time to face the consequences,“ Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler tweeted Sunday morning.
Johnson said he expected the 2022 campaign to be a nasty one.
“Tens of millions of dollars will be spent trying to destroy and defeat me. The mainstream media and Big Tech will contribute their powerful and corrupt voices as the unofficial but reliable communication apparatus of the Democrats,” he wrote.
