Scott Walker and Tony Evers Displayed Division at the Final Governor’s Debate

Gubernatorial candidates Scott Walker and Tony Evers displayed polarized opinions on healthcare and education at the last governor’s debate held on UW-Milwaukee’s campus on Oct. 26. 

The candidates remained calm yet stern as they disagreed over topics including the bombs sent to other prominent politicians, healthcare, education, climate change, justice reform, public safety, the economy, immigration, sanctuary cities, transportation and their accountability as public leaders. 

Whereas the Wisconsin Senate debates between Tammy Baldwin and Leah Vukmir were heated on every front, the final governor’s debate only became fiery over two topics.

Healthcare, especially preexisting conditions protection, was a hot topic nationwide during the midterm elections, and that theme was present in Republican Walker and Democrat Evers’ debate, as well. Like many Republican nominees, Walker made it clear that he isn’t on the side of Obamacare.

“We can protect them [people with preexisting conditions] without protecting the failure that is Obamacare,” Walker said. 

Evers, a cancer survivor, said he is for the Affordable Care Act and hopes his opponent switches sides on the topic. 

“I think this is an issue that isn’t a Democrat or a Republican issue. It’s a Wisconsin values issue,” Evers said. 

The debate was held at UW-Milwaukee’s Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 26. Prior to the debate, members of the national organization Fight for $15 marched around the area protesting Walker and showcasing support for a higher minimum wage. Reyna Gengler, a lead canvasser for the Fight for $15 organization based in Milwaukee, was supporting both a $15 minimum wage and better healthcare.

“My cousin passed away one year ago, with cancer and no health insurance. All odds were against him from the start,” Gengler said. “Walker is saying he’s for preexisting conditions protection in these false commercials, yet he’s against it in federal court to this day!” 

A long-running political controversy was brought up when the moderators moved on to discuss education. Walker said education is a priority for his campaign. Evers, the superintendent of public instruction in Wisconsin, thinks otherwise. 

“Scott Walker took $800 million out of our public schools when he first became governor and, frankly, made teachers the enemy of the people,” Evers said. 

Walker didn’t directly respond to Evers’ claims but instead chose to focus on his belief in the value of youth apprenticeships within the Wisconsin education system.

“I want to get those youth experiences, those work experiences, for our youth with youth apprenticeships, with co-ops, with early opportunities to identify where their careers are and give them hope for the future,” Walker said. 

Danielle Rogers, a 32-year-old returning student at UW-Milwaukee who’s majoring in school psychology, was wearing a sticker that said, “I Stand With Scott Walker” and was sitting with other Walker supporters on the right side of the audience. However, Rogers felt caught in the middle of the governor’s debate. 

“I really wanted to give Tony Evers a chance,” Rogers, a former educator, said, “because I don’t agree with everything on the Republican side either. I would like to see Republicans address the inherent inequalities within education.”

Another topic that showed confliction between the candidates was illegal immigration. Walker said he supports a constitutional immigration system under the federal law, which doesn’t grant certain rights to people who are undocumented. Evers, on the other hand, has other ideas for undocumented immigrants in Wisconsin.

“Think about how important undocumented immigrants are to the state of Wisconsin. They work on our farms, they work in our factories, they work in our offices. They are a vital, vital part of our economy,” Evers said.

When asked about what he would do to combat climate change, Evers brought up his background in science; having earned degrees in biology and chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“I believe in science. We need to let science flourish in this state,” Evers said.

When it was time for Walker to respond, he brought up his past as an eagle scout and then connected environmental concerns with economic concerns.

“If you can make things economically sustainable you can make them environmentally sustainable as well. The two don’t have to be competing with each other,” Walker said.

After a night of division, the candidates used their closing statements to bridge Wisconsinites together. 

“We need your help. We need your prayers,” Walker said. 

“There is clearly a difference of opinion…a difference of vision, but what unites us is far greater than what divides us,” Evers said. 

After an extremely close race, Walker conceded to Evers when the votes tallied up to 48.4 percent for Republican Walker and 49.6 percent for Democrat Evers. You can view a map of the Wisconsin governor election results here.