The senator is referring to a remark he made at a town hall meeting in December showed that “standard mouthwash, mouthwash, has been shown to kill coronavirus.” He later defended his stance during a tour of local radio shows. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Mr Johnson offered to provide evidence that he was right. So far, he hasn’t done so.
Wisconsin Democrats have long decided not to make Mr Johnson’s false assertions central to their campaign to unseat him. In part, it’s because he’s been making them for so long that they’ve become part of state politics.
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“In a rural state, people are listening to this,” said Representative Mark Pocan, a Democrat from Madison who spent years competing with Mr. “They no longer become opinions. They come true and they come true again and again and they are supposed to be part of the reality here. “
Despite all the rehearsals, Mr Johnson did not use the smooth tunes or the wrath of professional broadcasters. He still sounded like an Up North tavern owner, speaking in long, distinctive lines with an upper Midwestern accent that stretched his aaah sounds.
The shows attracted a large number of loyal listeners throughout Wisconsin, though public Nielsen radio ratings does not report how many people are followed at specific times. Mr. Johnson appeared on shows across the state, from 50,000 watt station in Milwaukee’s 1.5 million listener market for radio stations with small signals in Wausau and programs offered on public radio station through Wisconsin.
Ryan Seaman, 31, who works in construction, said he is a frequent caller to conservative talk radio shows in Milwaukee, where he lives.
“They try to take both sides without really giving too much of their own input,” Mr. Seaman said. “It’s not like they’re trying to force something on you. That’s how I think the news should be. It should be fair, but precise about what’s going on. “
