[cheers and applause] thank you. >> [chanting] mandela barnes! mandela barnes! mandela barnes! >> thank you. thank you all. [cheers and applause] and now i am so incredibly proud to introduce somebody who has been a partner to me, a partner with me, leading to state through some incredibly difficult times, a person i am proud to call a friend, a champion for the working people of wisconsin, someone who truly embodies the wisconsin idea, the same idea that made wisconsin become the first state to ratify the 19th amendment, the right to vote. [cheers and applause] i got a little encore for you all. because we are a state that advances the cause of women rights, not take them away. we are the first state to declare the fugitive slave act unconstitutional, the first state to have anti- discrimination laws based on ability on the books, and the first state to have antidiscrimination laws based on sexual orientation on the books. [cheers and applause] some one who has diligently held up that honor, taken us boldly into the future my good friend in your governor, tony evers, everybody

i am mandela barnes. today, with your help, we will -- [applause] i cannot tell you how much it means being back here at home. i am a proud product of marshall high school. history teacher over here. i say that if it wasn't -- i say that because i wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my public school education. i also wouldn't be here if it were not for the opportunity of wisconsin manufacturing and the strength of our labor union. i am just so grateful for the way things came together. this community has given me so much. i want to make sure we can all rise together. today has a special meaning for me. 18 years ago, in the summer of 2004, i came back from whatever summer job i was working, turn on the tv, and i saw then state senator, barack obama, give a keynote speaker at the democratic national convention. it was literally a speech to change my life. things started to click for me. i didn't really consider politics before, i didn't see people who i felt shared my experience. there weren't a whole lot of

specifically, members of that community are looking to mandela barnes to change that perception. his supporters have shown up in force for his 2nd tv debates against can senator ron johnson. it's a spirited back and forth in front of a very pro mandela barnes crowd in liberal, milwaukee. but how does barnes want to address the concerns of black voters and make sure they vote and stick with the democrats? we have the creed jobs right here, wisconsin the bank on johnson or johnston to the last in and out of state or out of country. senator johnson, you have 30 seconds to respond to that until i understand how high the class you dances, because i feel my own gas ting. i drive myself from the state, unlike lieutenant governor barnes who is chauffeur rom, by state patrol, costing taxpayers over $600000.00. we wanted to ask him about his vision, but he didn't take questions after the debate centered johnson also wasn't available to speak to us. i really, i got out of luck. i got talked to a thank you for being here. or if barnes wins, these voters will certainly hold him to account g c

specifically, members of that community are looking to mandela barnes to change that perception. his supporters have shown up in force for his 2nd tv debates against republican senator ron johnson. it's a spirited back and forth in front of a very pro mandela barnes crowd and liberal milwaukee. but how does barnes want to address the concerns of black voters and make sure they vote and stick with the democrats? we have to create jobs right here with the bank kind of jackson or jackson lives in and out of the or out of the country. senator johnson, you have 30 to respond to that. going to stand how high the cross this is because i feel at my own gas tank, i drive myself around the state, unlike lieutenant governor barnes who is chauffeured round by state patrol, costing taxpayers over 600000 dollars. we wanted to ask him about his vision, but he didn't take questions after the debate. senator johnson also wasn't available to speak to us. i don't want to talk. i got one. okay, thank you for being here. i mean, i guess it's barnes wins. these voters will certainly hold him to accoun

specifically, members of that community are looking to mandela barnes to change that perception. his supporters have shown up in force for his 2nd tv debates against can senator ron johnson. it's a spirited back and forth in front of a very pro mandela barnes crowd and liberal milwaukee. but how does barnes want to address the concerns of black voters and make sure they vote and stick with the democrats? we have the green jobs right here, wisconsin, the bank on johnson or johnston who lives in an outer space or out of country. senator johnson, you have 30 seconds to respond to that until i understand how high the cross your gas is because i feel my own gas tank. i drive myself around the state, unlike lieutenant governor barnes who is chauffeur. ron bye, state patrol costing taxpayers over $600000.00. we wanted to ask him about his vision, but he didn't take questions after the debate centered johnson also wasn't available to speak to us. i don't want to talk, i got to talk to the 1st one. okay, thank you for being here with me again. if barnes wins these voters will certainly ho

they won't tell the truth about mandela barnes or ask him tough questions.son for senate.com. we need help to get the truth out about my opponent. >> harris: i know a lot of money has been spent on ads and mandela barnes was asked to try to fight back. the help that you've been getting has been hitting tv screens all over the state of wisconsin. so he was feeling that. we'll see if the former president barack obama can come in and do whatever it is to address the issues that you just told us about. you can't touch inflation and any of the rest of the crime in 19 days but i guess they can try. the media are hitting from both sides are some old tweets by mandela barnes. in 2017 he compared black american musician tina campbell to a slave after she announced that she supported president trump. in 2016, he refused to accept that a black conservative sheriff was the same race as he is. he said that sheriff wasn't really black. in 2015, barnes praised iran's supreme leader for supporting black lives matter. we reached out to lieutenant governor barnes and haven't

amy: talking about mandela barnes, the lieutenant governor could become wisconsin's first black u.s. he defeats republican incumbent ron johnson in november. during the protests in kenosha, wisconsin, in 2020, democracy now! spoke to barnes and asked him what is being done at the state level around police reform. >> we introduced for the governor introduced a legislative package. we know that a legislative package is not going to solve the deep problems, but it takes a coordinated effort. we need action at every level of government. reimagining what is keeping people safe looks like. it goes to making sure that there is funding on the front end to prevent violence from happening in the first place like violence interrupters, but also having support for community organizations, having support for job training progra, you know, whatever the case may be, to create communities, to create societies where people have an opportunity to thrive, where less or fewer police are actually needed to respond to anything in the first place. amy: that is mandela barnes, who could become the first blac

. >> we have mandela barnes joining us tonight. he's innocent the sickle tie in the senate race and wisconsin with ron johnson. so it is a really tight one, like so many of the senate races and we are going to hear from him about what his closing strategy is. >> it is a fascinating race, mandela barnes is really compelling candidates, and the ads that they have been running against mandela barnes are shameful. so you have a lot to talk about today lawrence. >> thank you alex, thank you! >> good show. >> thanks. i could not live with that champagne, in victory i deserve it, in defeat i need it! that is a quote from winston churchill. and it's from this 522 page book about winston churchill's illnesses. nothing but his illnesses. the name of the book is winston churchill's illnesses, written by two british physicians. the quotes about champagne comes from the chapter titled, was churchill an alcoholic? the book was published in 2020 and using all of the latest analysis about alcohol addiction, the others conclude that it was in churc

that's why i am proud to endorse mandela barnes, someone with humble roots who understands the challengesad worked a third shift. now he's focused on solutions that will make a difference, like making more things here in wisconsin, cutting taxes for middle classes and protecting a woman's right to choose. >> former president barack obama stressing the high stakes for the upcoming midterms while backing the upton -- democratic senate in the wisconsin race, mandela barnes. obama's endorsement comes at a critical time. barnes is challenging republican ron johnson, who's running for his third term. his polls show a tight race in the final stretch. johnson is slightly ahead. both candidates made headlines during their charged second and final debate and we can go, poking economy, crime and abortion access. wisconsin's lieutenant governor mandela barnes joins me now. a monday, you are on a bus or focusing on workers and families. it seems to me as an observer, this is a critical group that you and senator johnson are both vying for. republicans out what they would do if elected, including slash

doesn't have the judgment. >> mandela barnes stands with defund the police. >> putting the defense- >> look, we knew the other side would make up lies about me to scare you. >> vonn johnson caught lying. >> mandela is the real deal. >> barnes's supporters fear that is hardly enough. >> his campaign seems to be faltering. >> are you concerned that those attacks may be working? >> they seem to be working, yes. i'm very concerned. >> one of barnes's primary foes and supporter blames them for an infect tich strategy. >> to have a national party come in and screw things up in the first month of the general ele election, it's going to come down to democrats. >> reporter: campaigning in small towns barnes told cnn he was not caught flat footed. >> were you prepared for this onslaught of attacks? >> we always thought he would distort the truth. >> his downplaying of the january 6th capitol attack or sewing doubt on the covid-19 vaccine instead accusing johnson of enriching himself in office and for supporting a ban on abortion. >> you wouldn't just ban aboriton. doctors could go to jail fo

i asked mandela barnes why they are not focussing on that issue. on economic ones instead. marquette university poll has barnes down by six points tested likely voters. when tested a larger set of voters, it showed the race in a dead even race, so democrats hope they can get their voters to the polls, they still have path. even though johnson seems to have traction in this part of the campaign. >> we'll see. up next, martial law in effect in lawyer ukrainian regions. we'll talk to matthew chance in the ground on moscow next. ♪ what will you do? ♪ what will you change? ♪ will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely new? ♪ our dell technologies advisors provide you with the tools and expertise you need to do incredible things. because we believe there's an innovator in all of us. red loved visiting grandma's house. and after saving big at amazon, she was ready for those... uninvited guests. [growling] shop legendary deals at amazon. [ coughing/sneezing ] [ door knocking ] dude, you coming? alka-seltzer plus powermax gels cold

with us for more is wisconsin is mandela barnes himself, mandela, let's start with obama's descriptionis he right? >> well i'll tell, you from the very beginning we started out this campaign focused on rebuilding the middle class. that's what it's all about. wisconsin is a unique state. it's a working class state, we're just focusing on the issues that matter, the issue that impact people in my town of milwaukee. and the issues that impact people in riral lander, where i was just at earlier today. that's been our focus and it will continue to be our focus throughout the entirety of the campaign. because that's exactly what ron johnson has left people behind. and drawing the contrast as best as possible. people are responding to it. >> you are 35 years old, democrats scored a lot of points on student debt and marijuana. is that enough to get young voters excited and out voting three weeks from now? >> well those are two big issues that young people are getting fired up about. but, also, the other issues are ron johnson is continuously failed us. when it comes to opportunity, ron johnson

mandela barnes will do that with him. what about these food prices? biden and the democrats have done that. how about the afghanistan withdrawal? biden did that. how about the borders completely open? you have to tell your kids to worry about fentanyl now because of the borders being open. it will be a clear vote with chuck schumer for all of these bad policies. if we don't get a majority, chuck schumer will decide everything for the u.s. senate. we will not get a majority of ron johnson doesn't win. how we make sure he wins, we need to get out the vote. we need to do exactly as rhonda -- ronna said. you need to be poll watchers, knock on doors, do all of these things. now it's my distinct opportunity to introduce a friend of mine who cares so much about this country and that's why he is running in the great state of wisconsin who is going to change this country, ron johnson. [applause] . sen. johnson: thank you, all. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you for your applause, thank you for coming out here. thank you for your words rick s

i caught up with mandela barnes yesterday in milwaukee and asked him about it, and here's part of what. mandela: ron johnson is always using fear tactics because he can't run on his own record. from day one we set out to build a broad coalition that encoassed the whole, not just the whole of the party, but the whole of this state. our coition includes family farmers who are working people right in the inner city, independents, you name it. even republicans who are frustrated by ron johnson. like this is a broad coalition that truly represents wisconsin. the issues we're taking on, they're not even left or right, red or blue, it's about people have been at the top like ron johnson, the people he leaves behind. judy: and geoff, we have tried to, of course, to talk with ron johnson, but his campaign has not responded, and they have not shared his campaign schedule. geoff: so, judy, what kinds of things are you hearing from voters as you travel across wisconsin? judy: well, you do hear both voters and the experts we've spoken with say they believe this is turning increasingly into a campai

. >> tony evers and your next united states senator, mandela barnes. [applause] that is why i am here. you don't have to wait for november 8th to cast their ballot. you can vote early in person through november 5th here in milwaukee, or you can vote at your polling place at november 8th. if you're not sure about how and where and all that. go to i will vote.com, find out what is supposed to do and make a plan. make a plan, because you don't want to sleep to the election. and what you are doing the, help your friends and family make a plan. take them with you if you go to vote. if you vote in person, take them with you on election day because this election requires every single one of us to do our part. it's that important now, i think it's fair to say to this country, and i am not sure it's different in wisconsin and waukee, discuss gun to sometimes the past few years. we have been through some stuff. more just now coming out of a historic pandemic that wrecked havoc on families, schools and businesses and communities everybody was impacted. michelle i

specifically, members of that community are looking to mandela barnes to change that perception. his supporters have shown up in force for his 2nd tv debates against republican senator ron johnson. it's a spirited back and forth in front of a very pro mandela barnes crowd in liberal, milwaukee. but how does barnes want to address the concerns of black voters and make sure they vote and stick with the democrats? we have to create jobs right here with the bank, and johnson or johnston live in and out of state or out of the country. senator johnson, you have 32nd response. going to stand, how high the cross is because i feel at my own gas tank, i drive myself from a state unlike lieutenant governor barnes who is chauffeur rom, by state patrol, costing taxpayers over 600000 dollars. we wanted to ask him about his vision, but he didn't take questions after the debate centered johnson also wasn't available to speak to us. i really, i just felt like i talked to a thank you for being here. i mean, i guess it's barnes, when these voters will certainly hold him through a g clippers is an i

specifically, members of that community are looking to mandela barnes to change that perception. his supporters have shown up in force for his 2nd tv debates against can senator ron johnson. it's a spirited back and forth in front of a very pro mandela barnes crowd and liberal milwaukee. but how does barnes want to address the concerns of black voters and make sure they vote and stick with the democrats? we have the creed jobs right here, wisconsin, the vein kind of jackson or johnston, lives in an outer space or out of country. senator johnson, you have 30 seconds to respond to that until i understand how high the class you dances, because i've built my own gas tank. i drive myself around the state, unlike lieutenant governor barnes who is chauffeur. ron bye, stay patrol costing taxpayers over $600000.00. we wanted to ask him about his vision, but he didn't take questions after the debate centered johnson also wasn't available to speak to us. i really, i just felt like i talked to. i thank you for being here with me again. it's barnes, when these voters will certainly hold him t

take a look. >> you can't believe anything mandela barnes says. >> mandela doesn't want to defund thes barnes talking about defunding the police. >> defunding isn't necessarily as aggressive as a lot of folks paint it. the minute you talk about reducing a police department's budget, it's like all hell breaks loose. >> so a cnn review by our k-file investigations department of barnes social media and public comments found that he often signalled support for defunding the police. is this a vulnerability for him? >> i think so. i mean, democrats, there's a reason why they sort of changed their tune. there were a lot of activists in the wake of the george floyd protests who came out with this initially, and there was embracing of it. and then jim clyburn was chief among them who said this is a bad political plan. i think you saw the democratic party, at least in washington, shift its messaging. and you're seeing why this this race in wisconsin. because it is being used against mandela barnes pretty effectively by republicans. it's a close race, i will say every source i've talked to think

your opponent, mandela barnes is a radical like fetterman and warnock.nes wants to defund the place, no bail laws. he supported the lockdowns. he wantle illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition rates and legal driver licenses. he's 1,000% in support of the green new deal. he wants no restrictions on abortion. you can have an abortion until the day before birth. he wanted to eliminate the legislative filibuster and he won't apologize for mocking steve scalise after he got shot on that ball field and nearly died saying oh, he just took one for the team. no wonder why real clear politics has you up by nine combined. >> sean, you're scratching the surface in terms of what a radical leftist mandela barnes is. i put him up against fetterman any day. any problem is he just raised $20 million. >> sean: from who? >> from wherever. >> sean: anybody in wisconsin donate to that? i doubt it. >> maybe a couple. but again, $20 million. he's outraising me. the media is amplifying his lies, distortions, character assassination. so we have to assume this is a dead even

mandela barnes, not just a democrat. >> every time i see the footage of that, it's unbelievable. >> ie my kids to the because of trades all the time, it's unbelievable to say he. >> the milwaukee da said that that brooks was given a low bill as a result of human error. and in 2021 fact-check found that bill reform is not, clearly linked to a recent spike in crime. -- discusses with john miller, congressman mondaire jones, and ron brownstein. gentlemen, it goes without saying, there is the specific car and tragedy of what happened at that parade. there is the larger issue as well regarding the way in which this notion of soft on crime players around elections, and has a very political, pointed perspective. and i wonder, for the voters, if they know who's right. and how do you approach to try to bridge the gap between the talking points, which feels very visceral, and the facts? crickets? exactly. that's the make point i'm making. >> i'll start -- criminologists, i think, in any branch of social science, will say that it is extremely difficult to explain the long term trends and why cri

mandela barnes left -- lead that effort. the defund the police which makes our neighborhoods less safe. this is america in 2022, we had a baby formula shortage for infant, putin invades ukraine and creates were crimes and atrocities. they are fundamentally destroying america. that's what's happening. these people need to be stopped. they need to be defeated. [applause] they need to be thoroughly defeated. they need to be swept -- here is how we do it. i don't care what you did in 2020, do more. if you took six people to the polls in 2020, take two dozen. if you talk to 10 people, talk to 20 neighbors. do more. [applause] when they are talking about fundamentally transformation, i'm talking about our leaders not our fellow citizens. i truly believe, democrat, independent, republican, i think most people do love this country. i think most people are pretty concerned about what's happening right now. as you talk to your friends, families and neighbors, do not count anyone out. i don't care with their past party affiliation was.

there's an attack ad and a lot of it's being used to target mandela barnes who is running for senate from wisconsin and a larger issue about democrats on crime. i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for f

mandela barnes, dangerously liberal on crime. reporter: johnson attacked barnes over rising crime during the candidates' first debate last week in milwaukee. >> he has a record of wanting to defund the police. now, i know he doesn't necessarily say that word, but he has a long history of being supported by people that are leading the effort to defund. he uses codewords like reallocate, over bloated police budgets. he says it pains him to see fully funded police budgets. reporter: barnes responded to that criticism when we spoke at a milwaukee campaign stop. >> it's important that we make sure communities have the resources they need to prevent crime from happening in the first place. and ron johnson should be so bold as to talk about crime when he voted against the american rescue plan. our administration invested $100 million into law enforcement, public safety and crime prevention initiatives, and ron johnson voted against it because he'd rather play politics than do the right thing and keep people safe. reporter: meanwhile, bar

ron johnson slightly ahead of his democratic challenger, mandela barnes, after republican ads tried tos on issues like crime over the past several weeks. joining me now is u.s. senate candidate, mandela barnes from wisconsin. senator, thank you very much, rather, lieutenant governor. senator johnson though has been hammering you on crime saying you supported defunding the police, which you don't, and you're too progressive. what's your response? >> i'll tell you, ron johnson's going to make up whatever lies he wants to distract from his record because the reality is he can't talk about the things he's done. he's turned his back on working class people and not only lectured about crime from somebody who supported a violent insurrection that left 140 officers injured. another was crushed between a revolving door. it's very hypocritical for him to want to bring up crime, but he and his dark money allies are spending unprecedented sums of money to try to mischaracterize me and i'll tell you, polls go up and down. we're meeting people exactly where they are all across wisconsin. holding joh

and i hope very much he joins us in the united states senate. >> in wisconsin, mandela barnes getting hit hard on the issue of crime. you've hear the phrase defund the police. he's not alone. a lot of democrats are being hit with these ads. how would you be handling these attacks? >> well, obviously it's not true, the attacks on him. i know that mandela believes very strongly that we need good law enforcement, nonracist law enforcement, and i agree with him on that. if we're going to end -- solve the terrible drug problem, we've got to get at the root causes of those problems. that means we have a better educational system, that we make sure that our young people have the decent jobs that they need. >> democrats are not spending a lot of resources and time on two races in particular, ohio and florida, the senate races. do you think that's a mistake? >> look, i think that ryan in ohio is running a very strong campaign. and i've known him for years. this is a guy who is prepared to stand up and has been prepared to stand up for working-class people. and, again, to me, chuck, all over th

specifically, members of that community are looking to mandela barnes to change that perception. his supporters have shown up in force for his 2nd tv debates against can senator ron johnson. it's a spirited back and forth in front of a very pro mandela barnes crowd and liberal milwaukee. but how does barnes want to address the concerns of black voters and make sure they vote and stick with the democrats? we have the creed jobs right here, wisconsin the vein, kind of jackson or johnston to the mice in an outer space or out of country. senator johnson, you have 30 seconds to respond to that until i understand how high the class you dances, because i feel my own gas tank. i drive myself around the state, unlike lieutenant governor barnes who is chauffeur. ron bye, stay patrol costing taxpayers over $600000.00. we wanted to ask him about his vision, but he didn't take questions after the debate centered johnson also wasn't available to speak to us. i really, i got to talk to, i thank you for being here with me. i guess it's barnes, when these voters will certainly hold him to account

>> yeah, alicia, we covered mandela barnes event today.her one and middleton, that will get started behind me. it's actually been put on by planned parenthood, centered on abortion rights. i spoke to one woman this morning who reminded me of a conversation that you had in the last segment about liz cheney. i want you to take a listen to it and we will talk about why on the other side. >> we do not like ron johnson. he is not what we have needed. things have come out. we actually voted for ron johnson in the past because he seemed honest in his commercials, and he is not on us. in fact, he's very dishonest -- we did not like the way that he did not see nsc action that the rest of us saw right on tv. we did not feel that he represents our belief at all. katie lehman is pro-life. she voted for johnson in the pass. her and a husband posted that the 2016 election completely changed their mindset and not just on abortion. the way that senator ron johnson as hand of misinformation surrounded the covid pandemic and other fights that she also menti

safe. >> mandela barnes stands with defund the police. >> and a low burns as a radical leftist. >> puttingthe defense. >> we knew the other side would make applies against me to scare you. >> caught lying. >> mandela, who is the real deal? he does not want to defund the police. >> his supporters fear that that is hardly enough. >> his campaign seems to be faltering. >> are you concerned that those attacks may be working? >> they seem to be working, yes. i am very concerned. >> one of barnes's primary foes, current supporter, blames democrats for an ineffective strategy after the primary. >> they have the national party come in and screw things up in the first month of the general election, in my book it is unforgivable. the national party has totally failed us so it is time for wisconsin democrats -- >> campaigning in the small towns of northern wisconsin, barnes told cnn that he was not caught flat-footed. >> were you prepared for this onslaught of attacks? >> the reality is that we always expected ron johnson to distort the truth and try to hide from his own record. >> barnes's ads have

i will talk, in fact, to republican senator ron johnson's opponent mandela barnes, more later in the i think you can say that country's most closely watched race at this point is likely the one in georgia. that republican candidate there, of course, trump endorsed herschel walker, and i with no political experience whatsoever, to speak up, he's never debated before in his life, because he skipped the republican primary debates earlier his year, this year, with his opponents going as far as to debate an empty podium in his absence. walker is also currently embroiled in one of the most colorful and acute scandals in modern political history, after very credible accusations emerged of walker who is running on an extreme anti abortion platform, making it illegal across the country, paid for a woman's abortion, tried to pressure her into a second one. walker has denied those allegations, despite significant evidence supporting their voracity. tonight, he had to defend himself, and this pattern of dishonesty, doing the first and possibly only debate of his political career. just last hour,

and mandela barnes is a fascinating candidate. that's great, lawrence. >> thank you, alex. ate. >> we have breaking news tonight on top of breaking news about herschel walker, the new york times revealed tonight that the woman who said herschel walker made her pregnant and paid for her abortion has now also documented for the new york times a second pregnancy that herschel walker asked her to abort. she refused, that child is now ten years old. after that story broke in the new york times, the daily beast, which did their first reporting on herschel walker paid for her abortion, released these text between the woman who first had an abortion for herschel walker, and then had a baby the next time herschel walker got her pregnant. and, herschel walker's current wife. here are those texts. >> did you know herschel pay for my abortion the first time? or that he told me it wasn't the right time to have the baby that she did have. this makes me incredibly sad is the reply from herschel walker's wife. herschel walker's current wife does not say anything about the abortion. she say

mandela barnes, dangerously liberal on crime. ed barnes over rising crime. >> there is a record of wanting to defund the police. he has a long history of being supported by people that are leading the effort to defund. he uses codewords like reallocate and over bloated police budgets. reporter: barnes responded when we spoke at a milwaukee campaign stop. >> communities need resources to respond to crime in the first place. johnson should be so bold to talk about crime. ron johnson voted against this initiative because he would rather play politics. reporter: barnes and democrats nationwide have made abortion a centerpiece of their campaigns following the supreme court's overturning of roe v. wade. >> we are going to keep johnson accountable for his dangerous position on abortion. he said if women do not like the laws in our state they can move. reporter: johnson's campaign did not respond to our repeated requests for an interview or information about his public schedule. on abortion johnson says he wants voters to weigh in through

eastern, from wisconsin, ron johnson debates democratic challenger mandela barnes.ia congresswoman marjorie taylor greene and her democratic challenger marcus flowers debate on october 16. on october 17 republican governor brian kemp takes on political activist stacey abrams. don't miss a single election moment on c-span and take us with you on the go with c-span now our free mobile video app. also, be sure to visit c-span.org/campaign 2022, your website for all the midterm election coverage on demand. c-span, her unfiltered geopolitics. -- your unfiltered view of politics. >> republican senator ron johnson and his democratic challenger mandela barnes debate in wisconsin u.s. senate race. from the walkie, watch live on friday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, on our free mobile app c-span now, or online at c-span.org. >> democratic representative terri sewell and g.k. butterfield talk about voting rights during an event hosted by the congressional black caucus foundation. the discussion was moderated by roland martin.

it is in august we saw the polling start to go in your favor as you pulled away from mandela barnes. ent obama announced he will come and campaign for barnes in wisconsin. what kind of effect do you think that might have? >> well, guys, first of all understand that in wisconsin these are always very close races. i pretty well ignore the noise of the polls. but i think there probably has been a shift because we've been able to tell the truth about barnes. he is an individual who said the founding of america was awful. he and governor evers goal coming into office was to reduce the prison population by 50%. it's been reduced by 15% including their commission has paroled 884 criminals, 784 were violent criminals including 44 child rapists and 270 criminals who committed or attempted murder and they were horrific murders. now we just found out that mandela barnes has a state assemblyman literally went on russia today tv six times and used as a tool of vladimir putin. >> dana: i saw that. that was a stunning decision. >> bill: you had a debate the other night. this moment got a lot of atte

with defund the police. >> mandela barnes is a radical leftist. >> reporter: putting him on the defensiveld make up lies about me to scare you. >> ron johnson caught lying. >> mandela is the real deal. >> reporter: his supporters fear that is hardly enough. >> his campaign seems to be faltering. >> reporter: are you concerned those attacks may be working? >> they seem to be working, yes. i'm very concerned. >> reporter: one of his primary foes and current supporter blames national democrats for an ineffective ad strategy after the primary. >> to have them screw things up is unforgivable. the national party has failed us. it's going to come down to wisconsin democrats. >> reporter: campaigning in small towns in northern wisconsin, barnes told cnn he was not caught flat footed. >> we always expected ron johnson to distort the truth and try to hide from his own record. >> reporter: barnes' ads have largely steered clear of some of johnson's controversiaes. instead, accusing johnson of enriching himself in office and for supporting a ban on abortion. >> he wouldn't just ban abortions. doctors

and even though mandela barnes is trying to say well look that's really not what i believe.e of the past statements give johnson the evidence to do that. fnght right i think these are things to kim's point that vote reverse just kind of tuning into. a lot of coverage so far especially nationally has been sort of campaign to go to pennsylvania these zingy tweet from john fetterman about whether mehmet oz really lives in new jersey, but now that we are past labor day i think that the vote reverse starting to tune into these real issues. if you live in pennsylvania or wisconsin you're starting to actually dig a little deeper into the details and you know what really would john pass medicare for all and make private insurance illegal and what be barnes saying defunding police and that i think dynamic will only continue with candidate debate start happening here in, you know, coming days and weeks. >> dan one of the things that's interesting the lead open up by brian kemp incumbent governor of georgia against stacey abrams, of course, a favorite of progressive who is he defeated

. >> mandela barns doesn't have the judgment to keep our community safe. >> mandela barns stands withund the police. >> mandela barns is a radical leftist. >> reporter: putting him on the defensive. >> look, we knew the other side would make up lies about me to scare you. >> reporter: ron johnson caught lying. >> mandela, he's the real deal. mandela doesn't want to defund the police. >> reporter: barns' supporters fear that is hardly enough. >> well, his campaign seems to be faltering. >> reporter: are you concerned those attacks may be working? >> they seem to be working, yes. i'm very concerned. >> reporter: one of barns' primary fauxes and supporter blames democrats for an in ineffective add strategy. >> have the national party come in and screw things up in the first month of the general election in my book is unforgiverble. the national party failed us so it will come down to wisconsin democrats. >> reporter: campaigning in small towns of northern wisconsin, barns told cnn he was not caught flat footed. >> were you prepared for this on slot of attacks? >> we always expected ron j

mandela barnes is getting almost three-quarters of those who say it's very important.he economy, republicans are winning voters who say the economy is most important. going to punish the party in power and that's the democrats. he's getting two-thirds of them. having said that, each ■party is sort of jockeying to try to add another set of issues to that list. and on the republican side, one of those is crime. so, they're running attack ads, trying to tie democrats to this unpopular position. and it is unpopular in wisconsin of defunding the police. when voters perceive, if they perceive that barnes supports defunding the police, that's their perception, then they aren't voting for him. and he's behind johnson on the idea of will their policies keep you safe. now, democrats for their part would like to add this issue of election integrity, threats to democracy after the attempts to overturn 2020. >> under that banner of threats to democracy, some republicans won their primaries by denying or questioning the 2020 election. to what degree is that position either being emb

and in wisconsin, senator ron johnson taking on challenger mandela barnes where crime was at the top the agenda. omar jimenez joins us with the highlights. tell us about these debates. >> reporter: alex, we're clearly in the debate portion of this final push to election day, less than a month out. the latest on both sides of lake michigan here and wisconsin for the senate and here in michigan for governor. with many issues in common, including the economy, crime and, of course, abortion. >> we drew names to determine who goes first. >> reporter: dueling debates in the midwest. two for senate in wisconsin. >> take anything mr. biden says with a huge grain of salt. >> absolutely would like to respond to that. >> reporter: the same night, a round one for governor in michigan. in wisconsin, debate centered on topics like the economy, abortion, and crime. >> this is about making sure that law enforcement and communities have strong relationships. this is also about making sure we do the things that we know prevent crime from happening in the first place. >> the problem with the defund mov

they're actually favoring mandela barns against ron johnson. have two different stories how the voters are playing it. i would note the character, the integrity, that issue, it's down on the list here. it does not -- you know, about half as many say that that matters to their vote as the major factor as the candidate policy positions. >> what i thought was so interesting about this strategic voters question especially in pennsylvania is how much it broke for oz because fetterman for months in his campaign had kind of been campaigning on that strategic vote and he said he would bust the filler buster on union rights and if what really matters to you is who controls the senate, it's actually republicans that have the favor -- who are favored in that part and that's the calculations that particularly a lot of voters in georgia are making especially with the personal shortcomings of the republican candidate there but many voters are saying i want a republican representing me in the senate. really dynamic. >> in a runoff -- >> yeah. >> a lot of stra