Sarah Godlewski, Tom Nelson use Jan. 6 anniversary to criticize Ron Johnson, who has minimized the insurrection
Bill Glauber
Three Wisconsin Democrats are using the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection to tell voters they can't trust Republicans with democracy.
State treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, both running for U.S. Senate, attacked Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, who has downplayed the attack.
Further, in the closely watched race for Congress in western Wisconsin, state Sen. Brad Pfaff released a digital ad criticizing Republican Derrick Van Orden, who was at the Jan. 6 rally for then-President Donald Trump.
A spokesperson for the Republican Party of Wisconsin declined to be interviewed about the Democratic moves.
Johnson spokesperson Vanessa Ambrosini issued a statement Thursday on the anniversary of the insurrection.
"Senator Johnson immediately and repeatedly condemned the violence that occurred on January 6," Ambrosini said. "He believes the American people deserve a full and accurate account of what happened. He has investigated and sent 12 oversight letters to accomplish that goal. To date, he has received limited cooperation to his inquiries, and believes there is much more to learn.”
In her digital ad, Godlewski compared statements from Trump and Johnson about those who attended a rally that led to the attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's presidency. In one clip, Johnson said, "I knew those were people who love this country, who truly respect law enforcement, who would never do anything to break the law."
Godlewski's campaign charged that "Ron Johnson has spent the past year peddling Trump’s Big Lie, trying to gaslight the American public about the violent insurrection, and working to find new ways to silence the will of the voters in future elections."
More:Bice: U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson's 10 most controversial statements of 2021
Nelson's campaign placed a billboard on Highway 41 outside Oshkosh accusing Johnson of treason. It's the same billboard the campaign put up shortly after the insurrection last year.
"He's someone consumed by these bizarre conspiracies," Nelson said of Johnson in a statement.In his digital ad, Pfaff was asked, "What is the difference between you and Derrick Van Orden?"
Pfaff answered: "Well, for one thing, I wasn't part of an armed insurrection on January 6th."
Van Orden has labeled as "inaccurate" a report by the Daily Beast that social media posts showed he was on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot.
Pfaff is among four Democrats running in a primary to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, in the 3rd Congressional District.