Doyle, a Democrat and the incumbent governor, stuck to his theme of a contest between business in Washington and the values of Wisconsin.,”Gubernatorial hopefuls Mark Green and Jim Doyle faced off for their second debate this election season, clashing on issues across the board and pointing fingers at one another early and often.

Doyle, a Democrat and the incumbent governor, stuck to his theme of a contest between business in Washington and the values of Wisconsin.

"I've seen Washington fail us over and over," he said.

Meanwhile, Green, a Republican U.S. congressman for Wisconsin's 8th District, said the race was about finding leadership to replace an administration that tries to "keep passing the buck."

The debate, sponsored by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation, was held Friday afternoon at Discovery World Museum and rebroadcast at night. A panel of three journalists asked questions to the candidates.

It didn't take long for the accusations to start flying, with a question on negative advertising prompting each candidate to defend his own TV spots and blame the other for dragging the campaign through the mud.

Green said Doyle ran negative ads in February, the earliest campaign to do so in state history.

"I certainly have been outspent in terms of negative ads," Green said. "The ads that I run, I absolutely stand behind."

Doyle disputed this account.

"Our campaign didn't start running negative ads in February," he said. "The facts just given there are wrong."

Blasting the role of independently financed ads, Doyle said his ads highlight key differences between himself and Green.

Samantha Toigo, a College of Arts & Sciences sophomore and chair of Students for Green at Marquette, said both campaigns "have gone a bit too negative."

But she said Doyle, who she said went negative one week after his first ad, was wrong to put the blame on outside groups.

Jason Rae, chair of the College Democrats of Marquette, said the campaign was "one of the most negative in Wisconsin history."

He said the high stakes of the race have contributed to its tone.

Asked about the best way to address violent crime in Milwaukee, Doyle touted tough law enforcement policies and economic outreach to at-risk youth.

He cited a job creation program he said he funded to curb a crime spike over the summer as an example of accomplishing this.

"We should have a pot of money at our disposal to be able to give some added incentives to bring businesses in," he said.

But Green said Doyle's stance was the wrong approach.

"I don't believe that our crime problem is because we underspend," he said.

Instead, he said state and city leaders must "draw a line and say we will not surrender . to gangs and thugs and bad guys."

He said citizens "can't realize the American dream when they're worried about stray bullets."

Calling education his top priority, Doyle said the state must not pit property tax payers against schools.

He said Green supported cuts that would have "slashed education in this state."

Green rejected the claim he would cut school spending.

He said he supports merit-based pay for teachers. He also said the University of Wisconsin System is "falling short in many ways," and that UW tuition for in-state students has "skyrocketed" under Doyle's watch.

But Doyle said Madison tuition is the second-lowest in the Big 10 athletic conference, and that he has worked to keep it affordable.

Toigo said the candidates "keep addressing the same issues to death" in their debates – and that Green keeps ending up on top.

"It just keeps coming out that Mark Green has the right policy and positions on so many issues," she said.

Rae, meanwhile, said Doyle "very clearly set out his agenda for the next four years as far as where he wants to take the state."

The election will be on Nov. 7.

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