This is a shift: In recent months, Johnson had warmed to the idea of seeking a third term in the upper chamber despite his previous vow to only serve two terms, citing the necessity for the GOP to win back control of the Senate in this year’s midterm elections. But he hasn’t made any ironclad commitments publicly or to his colleagues…

Why Dems might welcome him to the race: Johnson has promoted misinformation about Covid vaccines and sought to undermine public confidence in them, a stark contrast with the rest of the Senate GOP.

During his leadership of the Senate’s chief oversight body, he also launched investigations that targeted Biden’s son Hunter, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and a litany of former Obama administration officials who played a role in the original probes of Russian election interference in 2016. His pursuits have won him enemies on both the left and the right.