POLITICO NIGHTLY: GOP turns to a familiar midterm message
View in browser BY DAVID SIDERS Presented by A protester carries a sign that reads "Defund The Police" during the Black Women Matter in July of 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. | Eze Amos/Getty Images AMERICAN CRIME STORY — Ron Johnson, the Republican U.S. senator from Wisconsin, had been lagging behind his Democratic challenger , Mandela Barnes, in public polls in recent months. So, it was big news today when a Marquette Law School poll showed Johnson, one of the year’s most vulnerable incumbents, had made up significant ground, leading Barnes by 1 percentage point, within the poll’s margin of error. The swing comes amid a raft of negative ads against Barnes, the state’s lieutenant governor — particularly on crime . That’s no accident. Republicans across the country have recently turned hard to public safety as they begin to shape their general election message. On Tuesday, the final primary day of the year, Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National...