Incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson and Democratic challenger Russ Feingold covered a myriad of issues in a debate Friday night in Green Bay. Polling shows the two candidates are locked in a tight race, with Feingold leading by only two points.
The meeting started off with each hopeful defending their endorsements of their party’s presidential nominees. While Sen. Johnson didn’t mention Donald Trump by name, he indicated his support. He says the two agree on major issues.
“Growing our economy and making sure it reaches its full potential, strengthening our military, defeating ISIS, securing our border, we have to commit to doing that,” Johnson says.
But, Johnson says he finds Trump’s comments about women, in a video that surfaced from 2005, indefensible. Feingold called Johnson’s support of Trump irresponsible and dared Johnson to withdraw his endorsement.
“Sen. Johnson has a chance to follow the lead of other Republican senators, his colleagues who are also in tough re-election fights who have said no, enough is enough, I’m not going to support Donald Trump. I challenge him to do the same because it’s just wrong,” Feingold says.
After that opening exchange, the two dove into some issues that have been defining the race. Feingold says if he’s elected, he’ll play a role in rebuilding police and community relations, in light of a slew of officer involved shootings across the country. He cited the fatal shooting that led to unrest in the Sherman Park neighborhood this past summer.
“The African Americans that I met with in Sherman Park the other day feel very uncomfortable with a lot of their police encounters. We need to reinvigorate the funding for community policing that was started in 1994 and was very beneficial to communities so that people know each other,” Feingold says.
Feingold says the answer also includes increased funding for public schools and making sure that central city neighborhoods contain thriving businesses. Johnson touted a project that he started, to help connect unemployed people in Milwaukee with manufacturing jobs.
“We’ve hit on a formula using the Greater Praise Church of God in Christ and Pastor Jerome Smith who identifies people who are in that situation and then we go in for a week, we provide soft skills training and we set them up with interviews. 20 wonderful companies are hiring people from the Joseph Project, it has an incredibly high retention rate,” Johnson says.
Johnson says the initiative has resulted in transforming people’s lives, since it began last year. Then, the debate moved on to skyrocketing student debt. Johnson says he’s played a commanding role in making college more affordable.
“I was the leader in making sure that Perkins loans were extended for another two years. I supported the Student Loan Certainty Act which lowered interest rates so, I support whoever wants to have a college education,” Johnson says.
Johnson blasted Feingold for charging exorbitant fees for lecturing at Stanford University, saying such charges ultimately get passed along to students. Feingold criticized Johnson for voting against Democrat-backed legislation designed to reduce student debt.
“There’s a very simple piece of legislation that would help. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has a bill that says you should be able to renegotiate your student loan like you can a mortgage. I’d vote for that, he voted against it. Sen. Johnson voted against it. Where is the concern about the terrible position that these young people are being placed in?” Feingold asks.
Feingold also plugged his support for raising the minimum wage while Johnson backed Donald Trump’s proposed tax credits to help pay for child care. The second and final debate between the two will be held Tuesday night in Milwaukee.
