Yeah I’m a little confused by the retroactive consensus that Barnes blew this race. I remember this being a huge surprise on election night that he got so close.
You'll forgive me for thinking "polling in the 30s" meant voting intention and not favorability. He always had a big chunk of people who disapproved but wouldn't vote for a D, just like every R senator
I don’t doubt you, I just don’t remember it being perceived as a front-line senate race despite Johnson’s poor numbers. My recollection is all the attention was on the open PA race and Dems playing defense in the other Biden swing states.