South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham helped his fellow Republican Ron Johnson stump for votes across Wisconsin on Thursday but both were nearly silent on their party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump.
After touring the Wisconsin Veterans Home in Chippewa Falls on Thursday morning, Graham spoke to reporters about why Wisconsinites should re-elect Johnson to the U.S. Senate over Democratic challenger Russ Feingold.
Graham said when it comes to topics like changing the Affordable Care Act, Feingold won’t do the “hard things.”
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“He’s not going to tell the left something they don’t want to hear,” Graham said. “I can tell you one thing about Ron Johnson, he’ll tell the Right something they don’t want to hear.”
Feingold has promised to push for changes to Obamacare.
While in Milwaukee, Feingold responded to Graham’s comments and said when he was in the Senate with Graham, the two worked together, “including health care initiatives, working on issues like campaign finance reform, and I have the greatest respect for Lindsey Graham, and he knows he and I work together very well.”
Feingold appeared at a rally with New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, who didn’t mention Johnson during the event and didn’t take questions from the media following the rally.
When Graham was asked about Trump, he didn’t mention the nominee by name.
“A lot of Americans wish that we could have a do-over when it comes to presidential politics … a mulligan, so to speak, but we are where we are. You’ve got two people flawed in different ways,” said Graham.
Johnson also avoided naming the presidential candidate but said he supports some of the GOP nominee’s policies.
“On the big issues: healing the economy, growing our economy, strengthening our military — it’s being hollowed out right now — actually defeating ISIS, securing our border and appointing judges – not super-legislators, not liberal activists that will overturn our Second Amendment individual right to keep and bare arms and protect our family and our homes,” Johnson said.
“On those issues, I absolutely support our nominee, and I do believe (Democratic nominee) Hillary Clinton is thoroughly disqualified from being president,” Johnson said.
Graham said Republicans in the Senate must stand up to whoever becomes the next president and he said Johnson would do just that.
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