U.S. Senate Debate: Johnson, Barnes spar over crime, inflation & defend campaign attacks

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- During the first U.S. Senate televised debate in the battleground state, incumbent Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and challenger Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes sparred over the economy, social security and health care.

Both candidates sought to define each other amid a challenging political landscape where inflation, crime and abortion are key issues consuming the race.

Barnes defended his support for eliminating cash bail, arguing people shouldn’t be able to "buy their way out of prison." Meanwhile, Johnson hit Barnes for his past statements about diverting funding from "bloated" police budgets, an element of the defund the police movement.

"If you want to reduce crime, first you have to fully fund the police," Johnson said. "Of course my opponent is opposed to fully funding police budgets."

Barnes has denied he supports defunding the police and has recently countered those attacks by signaling support for bolstering police departments. During the debate, Barnes said a solution to addressing violent crime is investing in schools and job creation.

On the economy, Johnson was hesitant to support raising the minimum wage due to concerns it could impact the job market. Barnes said he fully backs setting the federal minimum wage at 15 dollars per hour.

"People are working harder than they ever worked before, but they are not making the money they used to," Barnes said.

The Lt. Governor took shots at the Oshkosh Republican for supporting legislation to restrict abortion access and overhauling Social Security and Medicare programs. It comes as Democrats have been banking on Wisconsin's 1849 law banning nearly all abortions to energize their base after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

"Women have to live with the threat of their most personal decisions being interrupted by politicians," Barnes said on vowing to fight for women’s reproductive rights. "That's what's on the line right now."

Barnes also attacked his opponent for proposing Social Security and Medicare transition from mandatory to discretionary spending programs. Johnson denied he wanted to break up the programs.

To ensure the programs are mandatory and meet their financial obligations, Barnes floated having the wealthiest income earners pay more in taxes.

Each candidate agreed then-Vice President Mike Pence "did the right thing" to certify the 2020 election on January 6th, despite Johnson's staff being involved with trying to hand fake electors to Pence shortly before the Congress was set to vote to declare Joe Biden as President.

Johnson said he was only "briefly involved" and has pushed back against criticism over the effort.

With a handful of controversial, and at times, misleading campaign advertisements fueling the race, Johnson and Barnes were given the opportunity to respond to those attacks.

Barnes embraced an ad characterizing his views as "different."

"[The ad] ends by saying Mandela Barnes is different and I embrace that because we don't have enough working class people in the U.S. Senate," Barnes said in response to the question. "The Senate is broken and Senator Johnson is one of the worst parts of the broken system."

Johnson called it a "grotesque distortion" that he wants to eliminate social security and defended the tax break plan Congress passed in 2017, which made significant changes to the individual income tax.

"I want to save social security and the fact that I got a tax cut only for myself and only a couple of supporters. No. It's because of me, 95% of American businesses got a tax cut so they can compete with the big guys," Johnson said.

Barnes is seeking to become the state's first Black senator, meanwhile Johnson is vying for a third-term. The outcome of the race could determine control of the U.S. Senate next year.

Both candidates will partake in a second debate co-hosted by WTMJ-TV and Marquette University on Thursday.