Ron Johnson hitting the road with 10-day, 60-stop bus tour to close contentious Wisconsin Senate campaign

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is hitting the road in the closing stretch of Wisconsin's Senate race, with a 10-day bus tour that includes more than 60 stops across 3,000 miles.

The tour kicked off Friday in Franklin and will run through Nov. 7, the day before the midterm election.

In a hard-hitting speech by his campaign bus in a strip mall parking lot, Johnson bashed the Biden administration and Congressional Democrats, accusing them of fostering policies that have led to 40-year high inflation, high gas prices, skyrocketing crime and reversals overseas.

"These people need to be stopped, they need to be defeated," Johnson said. "They need to be swept from power."

Johnson's opponent, Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, is already in the midst of his 16-day closing bus tour.

More:The debates are done. Here's what to expect in the final weeks of the Mandela Barnes-Ron Johnson Wisconsin U.S. Senate race

Johnson was joined at his first stop by U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida.

McDaniel has saluted Milwaukee for its successful bid in gaining the 2024 Republican National Convention.

Asked if a Republican focus on crime in Milwaukee was concerning, since the city will host the GOP in two years, McDaniel said: "We're worried about crime everywhere. We want it down."

She claimed "Mandela Barnes has embraced crime. I think that's why this is such a big issue. And the people of Milwaukee want crime gone too. They don't want lawlessness. They want police. They want their home safe. They want their businesses safe."

Barnes campaign spokeswoman Lauren Chou said in response to the event: “It’s nice to see Ron Johnson is finally campaigning, but voters already know he is a corrupt politician who doesn’t pay his fair share in taxes, wants to ban abortion with no exceptions, and defended the insurrectionists who injured 140 officers on Jan. 6.”

More:'Innuendos and baseless allegations': Milwaukee claps back after Ron Johnson sows doubts about early voting in the city

Scott leads a key GOP campaign arm, the Republican National Senatorial Committee. In February, he released an 11-point plan to "Rescue America."

Democrats attacked several aspects of the Scott plan, including a proposal to tax all Americans, even those with low incomes, and an initiative for all federal legislation to sunset after five years. Democrats claim such a proposal would imperil programs like Social Security and Medicare.

Johnson says he backs shifting Social Security and Medicare to discretionary spending that would be subject to annual review in Congress.

Scott said Johnson is "running a great race."

"He cares about this country, he cares about this state," Scott said. "He will stand up to anybody."

More than a dozen protesters showed up at the event. One person held up a sign directed at Johnson: "Liar Liar, Time to Retire."

At various point, protesters changed "Pay Your Taxes," charging that Johnson and his family don't pay their fair share.

More:Sen. Ron Johnson says Social Security 'was set up improperly' and would have been better invested in the stock market

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ron Johnson hitting the road with 10-day bus tour to close campaign