On the chopping block? Ron Johnson denies threatening social security

Ron Johnson suggested social security and Medicare should no longer be considered mandatory spending. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

A swing-state Republican senator denied threatening social security and Medicare, after Democrats accused him of putting them “on the chopping block”.

Ron Johnson, who entered Congress on the Tea Party wave of 2010, is up for re-election in Wisconsin. As they attempt to keep hold of the Senate, Democrats think they have a chance of winning the seat.