Wisconsin's Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes faced off Thursday in their second debate, clashing over crime and abortion in a series of heated exchanges.
Their Senate debate, less than four weeks before the midterm elections, came as Johnson continues to erode the healthy lead Barnes once enjoyed in the polls. Johnson has led Barnes in recent surveys, worrying Democrats that a prime opportunity to pick up a Senate seat may be slipping away from them.
Barnes has worked to paint himself as an ally to the working class who is running against an incumbent he’s accused of being too extreme to continue representing Wisconsin. “President Biden came into office, blew open the border, and removed that first necessary step that we must take,” Johnson said. “I have unfortunately lost more friends than I care to count to gun violence, so it is absurd when people say that I’m soft on crime,” Barnes said. “There’s nothing that I’m more deeply passionate about.”
While Johnson pushed for “renewed faith, stronger families, and more support for communities” as a foundation for safer streets, he also said law enforcement should crack down more aggressively on violence.Barnes hit his Republican opponent for supporting the First Step Act, a Trump-era criminal justice reform bill that received bipartisan support in Congress but also paved the way for the early release of some criminals.
Johnson also accused Barnes of holding an “extreme” position by resisting any limits on abortion at any point in pregnancy.
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