Sen. Ron Johnson sounds alarm ahead of Republican leadership election: 'Our nation is in peril'

Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson issued a dire warning Monday ahead of this week's Senate leadership vote, stating that the "nation is in peril" and Republican voters are "disillusioned" with the current team in power.

Johnson's warning comes a day ahead of the Republican leadership election, which is scheduled for Tuesday, though he is seeking to delay it. 

The senator has the signatures he needs to discuss delaying the vote, but it's not clear if he has the support necessary to actually achieve pushing the date back, which he said is to give the conference more time to discuss strategy. 

“After this devastating loss, after we realize that our supporters are so disillusioned, so PO’d, they are not looking for business as usual," he told the Daily Signal's Tony Kinnett. "They want to hold at least somebody accountable, and you know, in the end, it’s people at the top that generally get held accountable." 

Johnson told Kinnett that it's important for the conference to have discussions on the party's future and the direction it wants the country to go. 

The comment comes after Democrats flipped control of both chambers last week, though Republicans still hold the White House for at least two more years. 

"There’s no guarantee that a miracle is going to emerge from those conversations, but you ought to have them,” Johnson said. "Our nation is in peril. That’s why I’m being so passionate. That’s why I’m just talking out as much as I’m talking out."

When asked if he was seeking to throw his own hat in the ring to replace current Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the senator did not comment directly but indicated that he was looking more at who would be capable of leading the caucus and who had the best strategy and vision for the party moving forward.

“There’s no strategy here. It’s all tactics, and tactics don’t win the day," Johnson said. “A strategy encompasses a longer time period. A tactic is just, again, very short-term, and it only requires short-term thinking. Whereas a strategy requires long-term thinking. It requires things like principles. 

"We ought to fully embrace and be guided by the principles of our Founding Fathers—a limited government,” he added.

The senator also noted that Democrats have a "strategy," which is to turn the country into a "one-party nation." 

Democrats are expected to hold their leadership elections in December before they return to power in January.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.