MILWAUKEE — The audience's applause was frequent, thunderous, and at times disruptive during TMJ4's U.S. Senate Debate at Varsity Theater on Thursday night.
Most of the applause was the loudest in response to questions answered by Democrat Mandela Barnes. But, there were a few moments that garnered applause for Republican Senator Ron Johnson. One of those topics was abortion.
When asked by the moderators where the senator would clearly protect life, Johnson said he supports a one-time referendum allowing Wisconsin voters to decide where the state should stand on the issue.
WATCH: Ron Johnson says Mandela Barnes would allow abortions up to the moment of birth.
Moderator Shannon Sims quickly followed up on that point, pointing out that earlier this month, Republican state lawmakers quickly gaveled in and out of a special session on abortion that was ordered by Governor Tony Evers.
Evers called on the Republican-controlled legislature to give voters a way to decide whether to repeal the current state law which bans nearly all abortions. When the U.S. Supreme Court tossed Roe v. Wade it reinstated the state law from 1849.
Senator Johnson responded by saying he disputes the gavel-in, gavel-out narrative.
"What Gov. Evers did was proposed a referendum to basically codify Roe v. Wade and that's not what I'm talking about. And, if I do get re-elected and we do have a Republican governor, I will use all my influence to try to convince the legislature and the governor to hold the single issue one-time referendum," said Johnson.
During a post-debate press conference, TMJ4's Ryan Jenkins asked Johnson's senior communication advisor to further explain how the referendum Johnson is talking about would differ from the one that was already proposed and killed at the state level.
"(Johnson) said repeatedly that this should be something that we should take the time as a state, time as a citizenry to address, to study, to learn, to discuss. And, what the Evers administration is trying to do is try and play politics with it right before an election, rush something through, that just wasn’t right for an issue of such significance," said Ben Voelkel, Senior Communications Advisor for Ron Johnson for Senate.
Johnson doubled down during the debate saying that he believes that the referendum that he would propose would be the single best way to solve the issue of abortion once and for all in Wisconsin.
Johnson's supporters broke into applause before moderators moved on and continued the debate.
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Lt. Gov. Barnes says he is the candidate standing up for women’s health and suggested a vote for him is one step closer to codifying Roe V. Wade.
“I’d support us going back to Roe V. Wade," he said. "That’s the law of the land that worked for 50 years and Roe also allowed for some restrictions.”
Barnes laid out the top items he’s pushing for on a federal level, including raising the federal minimum wage.
Barnes says he’s also in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, including giving driver’s licenses and in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants living and working in Wisconsin.
When it comes to addressing gun violence, Barnes believes it’s time to mandate universal background checks on guns. Wisconsin currently has background checks for purchases made from licensed dealers such as gun stores. A universal policy would require them for all other sales or transactions.
When inflation came up in the debate, his suggested solution is providing middle-class families with a tax cut by increasing taxes on the highest earners. He proposed a similar approach to strengthen social security benefits.
“Under my plan, a person making under $400,000 would not see an increase in taxes,” Barnes said.
After the debate, both candidates were offered the opportunity to have one of their spokespersons take questions from reporters and offer their perspective on their candidate’s performance. A Johnson campaign staff member showed up, but Barnes’ campaign decided not to provide anyone.