The candidates for US Senate in Wisconsin have agreed to a debate as the midterm elections are approaching.
Senator Ron Johnson and candidate for Senate Mandela Barnes have agreed to debate on October 13th at Marquette University. The debate will start at 6pm and is sponsored by Wispolitics.com, 620 WTMJ, and the Milwaukee Business Journal.
So far, this debate is the only one both candidates have agreed to participate in as of Friday.
While both candidates have agreed to this debate, Johnson has agreed to 2 other broadcast debates. Barnes, meanwhile, has challenged Johnson to join a forum hosted by the Wisconsin Farmers Union and Main Street Alliance in Oshkosh; however, the forum’s date is yet to be announced.
Typically, challengers like to debate incumbents as often as possible to raise their profile and get more earned media
— Scott Bauer (@sbauerAP) September 16, 2022
It is unusual for an incumbent to agree to more debates than a challenger
In the governor’s race, @michelsforgov and @GovEvers are debating once
The most recent Marquette Law School poll released Wednesday found Johnson narrowly leads Barnes ahead of Wisconsin’s elections this November.
Governor Tony Evers and Republican challenger Tim Michels were nearly even in the polling as well. Evers and Michels will debate in a one time event in Madison October 14th.
WTMJ will bring you additional coverage of this debate and other events leading up to Election Night in Wisconsin. You can find more election coverage here.