KENOSHA, Wis. — Two weeks to go until Election Day, but some people can begin casting ballots starting Tuesday. It has the two men vying for the top job in Wisconsin making what could be a final pitch to voters.
Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers and Republican challenger Tim Michels both made campaign stops in Southeast Wisconsin on Monday. Michels was at the Washington County Sheriff's Office to talk about how he is focused on crime. He says too many Wisconsin prisoners have been given parole.
"We need to have a shift, if you will, in the cultural thinking of the parole commissioner and the parole commission of having this aggressive goal of cutting in half our prison population,” said Michels.
However, Evers pointed out at his campaign event in Kenosha that the governor is not in charge of the parole commission. The governor only selects the chair. Evers also vows to crack down on crime through more funding for local police.
"How can we expect municipalities like Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Racine to do their job if they aren't getting the resources they can from the state government? That's the main issue. We need to connect the dots between the fact that they have been underfunded and the fact that there has been a significant amount of violence going on,” said Evers.
The latest Marquette Law School poll has called the governor's race a "toss-up" with only one percentage point separating Evers from Michels.
Along with crime, a major focus on Monday was on schools as the Nation's Report Card was released by the U.S. Department of Education. The National Assessment of Educational Progress showed every state had math and reading scores fall after the COVID-19 pandemic. Both candidates have different plans when it comes to helping Wisconsin schools.
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"We are going to do universal school choice which puts parents back in charge of their sons or daughters' education and this will create competition in the education marketplace. Competition is a great motivator,” said Michels.
Evers, who was the former state Superintendent of Public Instruction, says Michels plan takes money away from public schools.
"Our first responsibility under the constitution is our public schools. What's best for our kids is best for our state. I'm not anti-private school. There is lots of good private school just like public schools but our first responsibility is there,” said Evers.
If you want to learn more about Evers and Michels positions on different issues including things like gun control, abortion, and the climate, check out more of our coverage on the candidates atTMJ4.com/Decision2022.