(The Center Square) – Democrat incumbent U.S Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican challenger Eric Hovde sparred over campaign ad accusations and articulated their policy visions in a heated debate Friday night in Madison.
Beginning with the topic of how the candidates would protect and lower the cost of health care, Hovde said the health care system needs “significant restructuring” in order to survive.
“Look, the Affordable Care Act made three promises. Promise number one, it would slow down the cost of health care. Promise number two, it would increase the access to health care and promise number three, that you would be able to keep your family doctor,” Hovde said. “But I’m a believer in results, and if you look at the results, every one of those promises has failed.”
Baldwin disagreed and said she was proud of her work on the ACA as a U.S. Representative, where she added the provision that allows young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26.
“My opponent Eric Hovde called that particular provision stupid,” she said. “He also opposes efforts to negotiate with the big pharmaceutical companies to lower the price of prescription drugs, saving patients and Medicare money. We need to build upon the Affordable Care Act, and we need to build upon our efforts to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.”
Hovde denied opposing drug price negotiations.
“I believe we need to negotiate with Big Pharma. I think our drug prices are too high. When I first started taking my medications for MS, they cost about $6000 a year. Now they’re costing $35,000 for generic drug prices,” Hovde said. “I’m against big pharma – it’s your Wall Street partner who invests in Big Pharma,” he added.
Baldwin’s partner, private wealth management adviser Maria Brisbane, is an investor in health and biotechnology industries impacted by budget decisions from the Senate Appropriations Committee, of which Baldwin is a member.
Baldwin never refuted his accusations about her partner, but said later in the debate that Hovde should “stay out of my personal life.”
The candidates held widely different views on how to preserve Social Security.
Baldwin said the solution to extending solvency is lifting the income cap and claimed Hovde’s plan to reset spending levels to pre-pandemic levels would cut Social Security by 28%.
Hovde denied her accusations, pledging to protect Social Security and saying that he supports putting Social Security in a trust so the money cannot be used for other government spending projects.
On abortion policy, Baldwin said she will continue working to codify Roe v. Wade into law.
“My opponent has said that he is 100% opposed to abortion rights,” Baldwin said, referring to a comment Hovde made 12 years ago. “I’m trying to lead the way to restore Roe.”
Hovde answered that his position on abortion has evolved since 2012. He reiterated his opposition to an abortion ban and said Wisconsin should decide on the issue in a “commonsense and compassionate” way.
“I believe in the beauty of life – I’ve had two daughters and three grandchildren – and I agree with exceptions for rape, incest, and health of the mother. And I think women should have the right to decide early on in their pregnancy,” he said. “But there comes a point in time where a baby can be born healthy and alive, and I think it’s unconscionable to terminate that child’s life.”
On voting rights and election security, Baldwin said she wants the original provisions in the 1965 Voting Rights Act reinstated, specifically the requirement that states with a history of discrimination must receive federal approval before changing state election laws.
Hovde said the lack of confidence in the voting system “is causing too much tension in our country,” and questioned by the Wisconsin Supreme Court is allowing for ballot drop boxes again when they were supposed to be a temporary pandemic feature.
He also referenced a Senate bill that would bar non-citizens from voting, and asked Baldwin why she doesn’t support the measure.
“Because it already is the law,” she answered.
When the topic of the border crisis came up, the candidates were asked what steps they would take to address illegal immigration and drug smuggling.
Hovde said the U.S. must close the border, stiffen drug trafficking prison sentences, and take hard sanctions against China, which produces the key ingredient for most fentanyl smuggled into the U.S.
Baldwin said she has introduced and supported bills to counter fentanyl’s spread, and accused Republicans “wanting the chaos, not the solution” when it comes to the border, referencing Republican opposition to a border bill earlier this year that critics say would have allowed an additional two million foreign nationals into the country a year.
The debate moderators brought up how fact checkers have flagged certain ads from both candidates’ campaigns for false or misleading claims, such as Baldwin campaign ads that accused Hovde of calling farmers “lazy,” and Hovde campaign ads that claimed Baldwin funded a clinic which offers transgender surgeries to minors without parental consent.
When asked whether they think those ads should be taken down, both candidates disagreed.
“I stand by those,” Baldwin told the moderators, saying that although Hovde hadn’t actually used the word “lazy” to describe farmers, that was an impression some farmers had from a 2012 interview. “I think it is totally fair for a candidate to amplify what their opponent has said, especially as a proof point of where they stand with regard to fighting for you.”
Hovde also defended his campaign ads and accused Baldwin of repeatedly misrepresenting him.
“Every single one of Sen. Baldwin’s ads is a lie. I’m supposedly the jerk from California, yet I’m born and raised here in this state,” Hovde said, pulling a recent Wisconsin utility bill out of his suit jacket for emphasis. “As it pertains to the clinic–she funded an earmark for that clinic…the ad I ran about the clinic is not false, and they just changed what’s on their webpage.”
Both candidates pledged to work in a bipartisan way in the Senate.
“I entered into this race because I love my country, I love America, we’ve been blessed to live in this wonderful country. But our country’s gone in the wrong direction,” Hovde said. “I think it’s time for a change.”
“I fight for Wisconsin, and only for Wisconsin. And it’s something that I take great pride in,” Baldwin said. “This election is about regaining our rights and freedoms. This election is about helping working people get ahead.”
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