Republican Gov. Scott Walker said Democrat Tony Evers will “return us to a recession,” while Evers said Walker is lying about protecting people with pre-existing conditions.
Both candidates offered their closing arguments to voters in interviews that aired Sunday on “UpFront with Mike Gousha,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com.
Gousha asked Walker about the biggest difference between him and Evers.
“Well, it’s simple. If you want more jobs, and higher wages, I’m your guy. If you want more spending and higher taxes, which will lead to fewer jobs, then you should vote for Tony Evers,” Walker said.
“It’s not personal. We get along. We work on stuff together, but that’s the classic difference,” he said.
“We have more people working in this state than ever before. Our wage growth far exceeds the rest of the nation, including most states around us,” Walker said.
“And at the same time, my opponent’s talking about $7 billion in new spending. That’s higher property taxes, higher income taxes on farmers and manufacturers, and a gas tax as high as a dollar a gallon. That will cost us jobs; that will return us to a recession,” he said.
Walker also said his recent statement about taking the same language on pre-existing conditions from the federal Affordable Care Act and enacting it in state law is not new.
“I actually said it in both the debates,” Walker said.
“We can protect people with pre-existing conditions without protecting the failure that is Obamacare,” Walker said.
Gousha asked Evers why he is the better candidate for governor.
“Certainly, after eight years of divide and conquer, what I bring to the table is someone that learned, living across the state, is that what unites us is much bigger than what divides us,” Evers said.
“I’m going to work hard to find common ground. Make sure that those important issues that we’ve talked about in this campaign, we actually attack and take care of those issues for the people of Wisconsin,” he said.
“People in Wisconsin are tired of the polarization, and we’re going to change that going forward,” Evers said.
Evers said Walker was “talking out of both sides of his mouth” about protecting people with pre-existing conditions, while he’s “working hard to gut the entire Affordable Care Act” in a federal lawsuit.
“If he really wanted to do this he’d drop out of that lawsuit,” Evers said, adding that as governor, he would guarantee protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
Evers denied Walker’s claim that he will raise taxes if elected.
“I’m planning on raising no taxes,” Evers said.
He called Walker’s claim that he would raise the gas tax a dollar a gallon “laughable.”
“For crying out loud Mike, I wouldn’t vote for myself if that was the case,” Evers said, and reiterated his previous statements that he will seek a bipartisan solution to the state’s transportation funding needs.
Also on the program, the major-party candidates for state treasurer, Democrat Sarah Godlewski and Republican Travis Hartwig, sparred over their competing visions for the office.
In other segments, Jeff Mayers, president of Wispolitics.com, and Emilee Fannon, Capitol Bureau Chief and the host of “Capitol City Sunday” on WKOW-TV, offered analysis of the races for governor, U.S. Senate and attorney general.
See more from the show:
https://www.wisn.com/upfront
