Crime has become a leading issue in the competitive Wisconsin Senate race, as Milwaukee’s homicide rate has spiked by 20 percent since last year. Throughout the campaign, Barnes has been fighting to distance himself from perceptions he is anti-police and soft on crime.
"Instead of trying to settle things down," said Johnson during the debate on Friday, "the lieutenant governor gave a press conference and said it felt like a vendetta was carried out [by the police] against one of our community members. He incited the riot."