Republican professor Ryan Owens joins Wisconsin attorney general race

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- There are now two Republicans in the race for Wisconsin attorney general.

The latest candidate is on tour, announcing his bid.

His name is Ryan Owens. He's a tenured political science professor at UW-Madison, and he stopped at Milwaukee's Packing House restaurant Tuesday morning, April 20, to talk with small business leaders.

Owens says he's running in 2022 because he's seen a leadership deficit in Wisconsin.

"We've got a lot of problems in this state right now and it doesn't seem like we've got serious solutions to them," Owens said. "When we've got people bringing down statues on the Capitol, beheading them and dragging them through the streets and dumping them in the lake and our leaders don't respond to that, and it just strikes me that we're in a very strange place right now."

Owens joins the Fond du Lac district attorney in the Republican race for the attorney general nomination.

The current attorney general, Josh Kaul, is a Democrat.