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Burke, Walker Trade Blows In Debate Markedly More Aggressive Than First

State Budget, Job Creation At Fore Of Second, Final Televised Debate

By
Gov. Scott Walker, left, and Democrat Mary Burke during Friday night’s televised debate.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker and Mary Burke, his Democratic challenger in the race for Wisconsin governor, met for a second and final televised debate in Milwaukee on Friday night, in which the two candidates were more aggressive in attacking each others’ positions than in last week’s faceoff.

Walker, as he has throughout his campaign, criticized Burke for her time as commerce secretary under Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, citing high unemployment figures from the three years that she was in office. He also slammed her for a jobs plan that included text copied from other Democrats’ campaign materials, saying that when he mentions other people’s ideas, he “gives them credit for it.”

The governor also routinely lambasted Doyle’s administration for job loss and an unbalanced budget — prompting Burke to eventually retort, “From the number of times Walker has brought up Jim Doyle, I think he’d rather be running against him than running against me.”

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Burke, for her part, took jabs at Walker largely on economic grounds, repeating her highly scrutinized claim that Wisconsin is “dead last” in job growth among states in the Midwest. She also alleged that Walker’s idea of promoting job growth was through tax breaks for the rich and for “special interests,” and said that Walker has steered the budget towards a deficit to “financial irresponsibility.”

The issue of the budget and financial responsibility was indeed a recurring theme throughout the debate, and in fact, was the basis for the first question of the night. Walker dismissed projections of a $1.8 billion structural deficit in the state budget. Instead, he focused on the recent news that the last fiscal year ended with a $517 million surplus. Burke, however, emphasized that the $517 million figure was essentially a “cash balance” and said that Walker had spent too much money.

Job creation, which has arguably been the most visible topic this election season, was also touched on throughout the debate. Walker brought up the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics’ September jobs report three times, repeatedly noting that it estimated that 8,400 private-sector jobs were added to the state’s economy. He also pointed towards Doyle’s last term as governor, during which 133,000 jobs were lost — again attempting to tie Burke to that administration’s record.

The city of Milwaukee was, in addition to being the site of the debate, the focus of a number of questions as well. The candidates were asked about inner-city violence, economic strife within the city and the potential financing of a new Milwaukee Bucks arena.

The candidates also discussed a proposed casino in Kenosha and drunken driving.

The two are currently tied at 47 percent among likely voters in the race, according to the latest Marquette University Law School poll.