Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican Eric Hovde exchanged views on abortion rights and economic issues Friday night in their first and only debate in a hotly contested Wisconsin Senate race that has been heating up weeks before Election Day.
The tenor of the hour-long standoff was mostly civil, but both candidates occasionally delivered acidic lines and retorts, with Hovde repeatedly accusing Baldwin of lying and Baldwin often accusing Hovde of misrepresenting his position on a number of issues.
The most tense moments of the evening came when the two candidates sparred over reproductive rights.
After one of the many attacks Hovde took on Baldwin’s partner, the two-term incumbent responded, saying, “Eric Hovde needs to stay out of my personal life — and I think I speak for most of the women of Wisconsin, he needs to stay out of everything. our personal lives.”
A few minutes ago, Roe v. When asked whether Wade should be made the “law of the land,” Baldwin replied that “a woman’s rights and liberties should not depend on her zip code or her state.”
As they have nationally, Democrats have put the issue at the forefront of politics in Wisconsin, where an 1849 abortion ban was technically upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. It went into effect after Wade dropped his case. Those who provide abortion in the state he continued After a judge ruled last year that the 175-year-old law did not apply to consensual medical abortions, the state Supreme Court reviews a separate case that invalidated the law entirely.
“Look, he was brought back to our state,” Hovde said during the exchange. “I believe in the beauty of life … and I agree with exceptions for rape, consanguinity and maternal health.”
Hovde, a GOP businessman who ran unsuccessfully for the Wisconsin Senate in 2012, has previously said he is “100% pro-life.” variable position during the current campaign to include support for these exceptions.
He then falsely accused Baldwin of supporting abortion rights “up to the point of delivery where a healthy baby can be born alive and terminated.”
“There comes a point where a baby can be born healthy and alive, and I think it’s unfair to end that child’s life,” she said.
Baldwin responded forcefully, saying, “Eric Hovde, this doesn’t happen in America. It is very clear that he never saw Roe v. He did not read “Wade”.
Friday’s debate, four days before early in-person voting in Wisconsin and 18 days before Election Day, coincides with a race between Baldwin, who is running for a third term in the Senate, and Hovde, a multimillionaire businessman and banker. the owner, in recent weeks has been pressed.
There was a seat is a top priority for both partiesGiven Wisconsin’s status as one of the nation’s most tightly divided battlegrounds.
Baldwin won the 2012 Senate race by more than 5 percentage points and his 2018 re-election contest by nearly 11 percentage points. shows his appeal in rural areas.
While Baldwin proves himself a powerful fundraiser and has led in public opinion polls for the past few months, with polls in recent weeks showing a closer race. Last week, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter changed the rating of the race “throw” from “skinny Democratic.”
GOP outside of groups they poured more money into the state On behalf of Hovde, he also contributed millions of dollars to his campaign.
During Friday’s debate, Baldwin and Hovde clashed on immigration, foreign policy, including the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and a long list of economic issues, including child care costs, senior care and drug prices, and Social Security.
On the issue of how to extend the affordability of the entitlement program, Baldwin criticized Hovden for wanting to cut federal spending to fund it.
“It supports the costs, not just for you,” he said.
It was one of several attacks that prompted Hovden to issue nervous but pointed responses.
“One thing you improve in Washington is your ability to lie,” Hovde said.
The two rivals also traded on who had stronger Wisconsin credentials.
Baldwin and foreign Democratic groups placed him at the center of some of the most prominent attacks Against the fact that Hovde lived to a large extent California in recent years, Hovde has repeatedly attacked Baldwin as a career politician who has lived in Washington for too long.
“I’m supposed to be an idiot from California. However, I was born and raised here, I’ve lived the last 12 years where you grew up,” Hovde said during one exchange. “I’m a UW graduate, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am,” Baldwin replied.
“Law school, not undergrad,” Hovde replied.
Baldwin received his undergraduate degree from Smith College in Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Hovde received his BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.