Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is sending mixed signals regarding a 2028 run for reelection.
Johnson, who was sent into office in 2010 as part of the Tea Party surge, spent much of his appearance at a Milwaukee Press Club event bemoaning his role as senator, saying he didn’t “covet” the position, the Hill reported. He then raised eyebrows when he commented on the 2028 election for his senate seat, leaving it uncertain whether or not he would run.
“I learned in my second run, when I absolutely meant ‘second and final,’ you can’t say never, never, okay? I don’t want to. Yeah, I’d like to dig my heels in now, set this nation on a sustainable course and then go home,” Johnson said.
He later downplayed his role as a senator.
“I don’t revel in the, ‘You know, I’m a U.S. senator,” Johnson said, adding later that he’s “just a guy from Oshkosh, just trying to — literally trying to save this country.”
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Johnson’s retirement from the Senate would open up a heated primary in the battleground state, one of the most vulnerable Republican seats. The incumbent senator beat Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes by just 1%.
The loss of Johnson would also be a blow to fiscal hawks in Congress, of which he has emerged as one of the most prominent.
