Wanggaard, Lehman to debate Thursday, May 24th

RACINE -- The stakes aren't as high, but there's still a pivotal recall rematch coming up June 5th in Racine. Republican state Senator Van Wanggaard is trying to keep his seat, as the man he beat in 2010, John Lehman, tries to unseat him.

In the final two weeks before election day, they're all busy days at the Racine Democratic Office. With nearly all voters decided, the goal is to get them to the polls.

"Lot of phone calls, lot of canvassing, repeating canvassing in some neighborhoods to make sure people are voting. A lot of activity," Lehman said.

Former state Senator John Lehman and incumbent Van Wanggaard did their own canvassing in Caledonia Tuesday, May 22nd.

"What our object is right now is to identify voters that have questions and to answer those questions for them, but also to identify people who are gonna get out to vote, to make sure they do that on election day," Van Wanggaard said.

The race in Racine features the same platforms we see in the Walker/Barrett gubernatorial campaign. It begins with a Republican up for recall, insisting he's helping Wisconsin move forward.

"The numbers don't lie. The numbers are there. We lost those jobs. You look at the empty buildings in Racine, and you look at the people out of work ,and that's not acceptable. I know we've had jobs come in the hundreds over the last two years because I've been at the openings. I've seen the digging," Van Wanggaard said.

On the other side, Lehman says Republicans are not bringing in enough tax revenue because they'd rather protect the wealthy.

"If you look at just tax collections and revenue sources, the state of Minnesota puts a lot more money into their Department of Revenue and it really pays off. There's a lot of tax cheats and a lot of people not paying their full boat that ought to," Lehman said.

In two weeks, voters in and around Racine will decide whether Lehman returns to Madison or Wanggaard holds onto his seat.

Lehman and Wanggaard are set to debate Thursday, May 24th from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Mount Pleasant Village Hall.

CLICK HERE for more on the Lehman/Wanggaard debate via FOX6's media partners at the Mount Pleasant Patch.

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