Van Wanggaard, John Lehman face off in debate

RACINE -- A debate was held Thursday night, May 24th in the race for the 21st Senate District, and incumbent Van Wanggaard and John Lehman faced off. The two faced each other back in 2010, when Lehman defeated then-incumbent Wanggaard.

Debating before a full audience, lines were immediately drawn Thursday night between the two candidates battling for the Senate seat.

"I was elected to fix those failures of John Lehman and that Jim Doyle brought," Wanggaard said.

"Governor Walker said 'I dropped the bomb,' and he certainly did," Lehman said.

On the issue of Racine and its 11.2% unemployment rate - the highest in the state - Lehman points the finger at Republicans and Gov. Scott Walker, while Wanggaard blames Democrats under the leadership of former governor Jim Doyle.

"He lost 150,000 jobs under his watch and our unemployment rate was 17 percent. Now, it`s dropped 5 points," Wanggaard said.

"First they were gonna create 250,000 jobs, and then they were gonna change the direction, and now they`re gonna change the climate. Now, they say 'elect me' and it`s gonna get better. It hasn`t gotten better," Lehman said.

On the issue that inflamed the state, Wanggaard defended his vote on Act 10 and its effects on collective bargaining, and Lehman attacked him for it.

"He doesn`t realize the affect of making a public policy decision which essentially puts the target on the backs of all the teachers and public employees," Lehman said.

"Wisconsin has saved $1 billion in resources because of the process, and fixed structural issues that have caused the problem that we`re in," Wanggaard said.

Related stories: