Sen. Ron Johnson To Run For Third Term After Making Unverified COVID-19 Claims

WISCONSIN — The U.S. senator from Wisconsin known for making unverified claims about the 2020 election and COVID-19 pandemic announced Sunday that he will run for a third term.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who was first elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2016, said it was "not a decision I have made lightly," adding in a statement that he has been the target of false attacks.

Johnson has been criticized for repeating unverified claims and misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic, including in a Wednesday Newsmax segment in which he claimed falsely that ivermectin, a cattle dewormer, and hydroxychloroquine, an immunosuppressive drug first touted by former President Donald Trump, could treat illness from the coronavirus.

Ivermectin isn't approved to treat people or animals for COVID-19, the Food and Drug Adminstration said in a statement. Hydroxychloroquine hasn't been found to decrease the likelihood of death or to speed up recovery from COVID-19, federal officials and others have said.

Johnson also claimed that gargling mouthwash could kill the virus, he said in a town hall meeting in December. Mouthwash brand Listerine responded in a statement that its antiseptic wasn't intended to prevent or treat COVID-19 and should be used only as directed on its label.

Being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and getting a booster dose is the best protection against severe illness, hospitalization and death from the coronavirus, Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake said in a statement.

The senator also said there were "many irregularities" in the U.S. 2020 Election and supported an election investigation in a different Newsmax segment on Tuesday. Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a conservative nonprofit law firm that conducted its own investigation, said it hadn't found evidence of widespread voter fraud in Wisconsin.

It was more likely that more people voted for Joe Biden than Donald Trump in the 2020 election the law firm said, and it added that there were few instances were people who weren't eligible tried to vote. Biden beat Trump in Wisconsin by over 20,000 votes in November of 2020.

Patch reached out to Johnson's office for comment.

Mandela Barnes, Sarah Godlewski, Gillian Battino, Alex Lasry, Kou Lee, Chantia Lewis, Adam Murphy, Tom Nelson, Peter Peckarsky, Stevin Olikara, Jeff Rumbaugh and Darrell Williams were the Democratic candidates who declared to run for Johnson's seat as of Monday.

John Berman, Brad Beyer, Adam Benedeto and Justin Doty were the Republicans who declared to run as well.