Governor’s debate
Gov. Scott Walker and challenger Tony Evers face off on key issues.
MADISON - GOP Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic challenger Tony Evers on Friday drew clear lines on matters of immigration, the state’s tax burden and whether the state’s schools and roads are receiving enough state money to support the residents that use them.
Walker and Evers, the state’s schools superintendent, battled on stage in their first televised debate that competed with a crucial game for the Milwaukee Brewers in their pursuit of a National League Championship.
During the hourlong discourse, the two candidates painted a picture of two very different Wisconsins:
Walker argued the state’s economy, its workforce and its schools benefit when he is in charge.
“I’m proud to be your governor. I’m proud of what we’ve done together over the last eight years to turn this state around,” Walker said. “I’d love the opportunity to finish the job over the next four years.”
Evers argued the state has been divided and critically underfunded over the last eight years.
“Gov. Walker has been a career
politician. I’ve been a lifelong educator. As a career politician, he has put his own political interests ahead of the people of Wisconsin and it’s played out in a negative way,” Evers said.
With two weeks to go before the Nov. 6 election and tied in the polls, Evers and Walker sought to gain ground — the debate was a chance for each candidate to persuade voters who might still be undecided.
Walker is seeking to be the second governor in state history to be elected to a third term while Evers argues that the state is in need of a change.
The two debated just hours after a fourth former Walker cabinet secretary publicly denounced the governor and that voters learned Evers’ latest state budget proposal was plagiarized from multiple sources, including Wikipedia.
Walker defended himself by saying he’s not afraid to have people with diverse opinions in his cabinet, while Evers said at issue was how Walker has governed.
Meanwhile, Evers downplayed the plagiarism on his recently proposed education spending plan.
“The issue about my budget is this: It’s going to ask for $1.4 billion extra for the kids of Wisconsin — that’s what’s important to me. Not citations,” Evers said.
Walker shot back, saying he was sure a teacher wouldn’t have accepted a term paper with copied portions.
On taxes, Walker again argued Evers would be reckless in increases, again arguing he might raise the gas tax by $1.
“Holy mackerel is what I say,” Evers said in response. “A dollar a gallon is ridiculous. It’s never gonna happen.”
Walker’s latest campaign strategy has focused on taxes, with television ads blasting Evers for his proposal to eliminate a tax credit for agriculture producers and manufacturers and not providing more details on what kind of increase in the gas tax Evers might seek.
Evers has proposed instead a 10 percent tax cut for middle-class residents.
He said Friday while Walker focuses on keeping the tax burden low at the state level, Walker’s policy choices on education and roads have resulted in record numbers of school referendums being passed to pay for school projects and local fees known as “wheel taxes” to pay for roads.
“That’s a Scott Walker tax,” he said.
On health care, Walker defended his decision to join a lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act by saying the state “can protect people with pre-existing conditions without protecting the failure that is Obamacare.”
Evers again called to remove Wisconsin’s participation from the lawsuit in an effort to ensure coverage of pre-existing conditions is maintained.
But neither answered how they could guarantee such protections should the law be overturned.
The two candidates drew the clearest contrast on the topic of immigration.
Evers said he supports allowing undocumented workers to obtain state driver’s licenses to get to and from work and providing in-state tuition for so-called Dreamers, or undocumented students who came to the country with their parents.
Walker repeatedly said “we are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws,” and did not say he would favor either proposal.
Friday’s debate came as the campaigns head into the final 21⁄2 weeks with Walker and Evers statistically tied, according to the Marquette University Law School poll. An NBC/Marist poll shows Evers leading.
Evers will get help in coming days with campaign stops from former President Barack Obama, U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Kamala Harris of California. Walker will get a boost from a Wednesday visit by President Donald Trump.
The Washington Post this week, citing unnamed sources, reported some Trump advisers urged him not to go to Wisconsin because they did not think Walker would win.
Walker and Evers’ second debate will be at 6 p.m. Oct. 26 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and broadcast by WTMJ-TV and WUWM-FM (89.7). Debate partners include the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.