WASHINGTON — Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin is running for a third term, she said Wednesday, setting up another battleground Senate race next year.
Baldwin is the latest Senate Democrat to announce a reelection bid ahead of a year where the party will be defending more than double the number of seats Republicans will be. The party is relying on incumbents like Baldwin, as well as Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey, who announced a reelection campaign earlier this week, to try to hold on to narrow one-seat majority.
“I’m committed to making sure that working people, not just the big corporations and ultra-wealthy, have a fighter on their side,” Baldwin said in a statement. “With so much at stake, from families struggling with rising costs to a ban on reproductive freedom, Wisconsinites need someone who can fight and win.”
Her announcement comes a week after Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz, a Democratic-backed candidate, won a seat on the state Supreme Court by 11 points over a GOP-backed candidate. Abortion rights was a top issue in that race, and one that Baldwin will likely emphasize in her campaign. EMILY’s List, an advocacy group that promotes Democratic women who support abortion rights, endorsed Baldwin on Wednesday.
Republicans have signaled that they will target Baldwin, who won her last election in 2018 by 11 points. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson won a third term in the state last year by 1 point.
“Tammy Baldwin has voted against tougher penalties for violent criminals, stood with Democrats to destroy American energy independence, and rubber-stamped Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer’s reckless spending at every turn. She’s a reliable vote for the far left, not a senator Wisconsin can count on,” Tate Mitchell, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement.
No major Republican challengers have yet announced a run against Baldwin. Rep. Mike Gallagher, the chair of a select committee focused on competition with China, has reportedly not ruled out a run, but recently told CNN that he is “not thinking about it at present.”
Baldwin chairs the Appropriations subcommittee that funds the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, plus related agencies. She served seven terms in the House before winning a Senate seat in 2012, defeating Republican former Gov. Tommy Thompson by nearly 6 percentage points.
