Ron Johnson and Mandela Barnes duel over crime and abortion in Wisconsin Senate debate

Rising crime and entry to abortion emerged as two main flashpoints Friday within the first Wisconsin Senate debate between Sen. Ron Johnson and his Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

The showdown in Milwaukee — the primary of two televised debates — got here only a month earlier than the Nov. 8 election in a race that would assist decide which social gathering controls the Senate for the subsequent two years.

Early on, the 2 candidates sparred over how finest to handle rising crime, a problem Republicans nationwide have prioritized together with inflation within the lead-up to the midterms.

Probably the most heated trade in what was largely a civil debate occurred when Johnson, who’s looking for a 3rd time period, repeatedly accused Barnes of supporting the “defund the police” motion on the political left.

“The very first thing you do is you fund regulation enforcement, and sadly, the lieutenant governor has not accomplished that,” Johnson mentioned on the occasion hosted by the Wisconsin Broadcast Affiliation. “He has a document of eager to defund the police, and I do know he doesn’t essentially say that phrase, however he has a protracted historical past of being supported by folks which are main that effort to defund,” he continued.

Johnson then tried to tie his opponent to progressive Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri — who has explicitly pushed for defunding the police — by saying that Bush, together with Barnes, was “utilizing code phrases” like “speaking about reallocating bloated police budgets.”

Barnes hit again, saying that Johnson had no credibility in speaking about defending regulation enforcement as a result of he had downplayed the Jan. 6 riot.

“After we speak about respect for regulation enforcement, let’s discuss in regards to the 140 officers he left behind due to an rebellion he supported,” Barnes mentioned.

At one other level early within the hour-long debate, the 2 candidates had been requested for his or her positions on bail reform.

Johnson and out of doors teams have used an onslaught of advertisements in latest weeks to hit Barnes on the difficulty, with frequent mentions of a person who plowed his automotive by a Christmas parade in Waukesha final 12 months, killing six folks and injuring dozens extra. Darrell Brooks, who was charged within the incident, was arrested days earlier than the assault on home assault prices however freed after posting a $1,000 bail, a sum that has drawn criticism for being too low.

Barnes mentioned Friday he supported adjustments to the money bail system however that Johnson had “mischaracterized” his place within the advertisements. Beneath his proposed plan, Barnes mentioned, “harmful folks don’t get to purchase their means out of jail.”

“Beneath my plan, the perpetrator” within the Waukesha assault “wouldn’t have been in a position to get out if he paid $1,000 or $100,000,” Barnes mentioned.

The night’s heavy give attention to crime got here amid a barrage of unfavorable advertisements within the remaining weeks of the midterms from Republicans in battleground states who’ve hammered Democrats on the difficulty. The technique, as NBC Information reported this week, seems to be notably efficient in states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

The 2 candidates are locked in a decent race in a state that President Joe Biden gained in 2020 by lower than 1 proportion level. RealClearPolitics’ newest polling common suggests Johnson is up by 3 proportion factors, although Johnson, who trailed by wider margins over the summer time, has made beneficial properties in latest weeks amid the heavy give attention to crime. The nonpartisan Cook dinner Political Report has rated the race a toss-up.

One other divisive matter that got here up throughout Friday’s debate was abortion, a problem that Democrats are hoping will energize their base in November following the Supreme Court docket’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June. That ruling meant Wisconsin’s near-total abortion ban from 1849 went again into impact over the summer time.

Barnes attacked Johnson for having beforehand mentioned that if ladies didn’t like Wisconsin’s abortion regulation, they may transfer to a different state.

“I can’t consider extra callous out of contact or excessive place to take,” Barnes mentioned, including that if elected he would vote to codify Roe v. Wade.

He referred to a number of conditions the place younger ladies and women — together with a 10-year-old from Ohio who needed to journey out of state for an abortion after she was raped — had confronted extraordinary challenges in acquiring abortion care after Roe was overturned.

“That’s Ron Johnson’s America,” Barnes mentioned. 

Johnson responded with a mischaracterization of Barnes’s place by saying his opponent “could be permitting no restrictions in anyway.” He additionally mentioned he would help a lately supplied proposal to create a “single-issue referendum” that may enable Wisconsin voters to determine on the way forward for abortion rights within the state. However this previous week, the Republican-controlled state Legislature blocked preliminary efforts to get that query on the poll.

Johnson, responding to assaults which were made towards him by Barnes and teams aligned with Democrats, mentioned Friday he supported the fitting for folks to acquire contraception, and in vitro fertilization.

Barnes and Johnson will meet Thursday for his or her second and remaining debate earlier than Election Day.