Johnson may need surge in Trump support

Republicans have worried about the impact Trump will have on U.S. Senate and statewide races — that dissatisfaction with him could depress turnout among GOP voters.

In Wisconsin, Johnson may be in the unique position of needing Trump to carry the state to win his own race against former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, a Democrat from Middleton.

“Trump is an underdog in Wisconsin. The state never seemed particularly well-suited to him, and it typically votes a little bit more Democratic than the nation,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “Johnson may very well need Trump to win statewide to win re-election, so if Trump is an underdog statewide, then Johnson is too.”

Wagner said the growing fissures in the Republican Party between more traditional conservatives and Tea Party-style conservatives may be playing a small role in party donors and Super PACs paying less attention to Wisconsin than they normally do in a presidential election year.