October 14, 2022 | Rapid Response | RNC Communications

Mandela Barnes's Miserable Debate

Rapid Response

Last night, Wisconsin voters saw Republican Senator Ron Johnson and far-left extremist Democrat Mandela Barnes debate for the final time. It was a clear Johnson victory — and it wasn’t even close.

Here are the top moments from last night’s debate:

Johnson blasted Barnes for calling to release HALF of Wisconsin's prison inmates — including murderers and rapists.

For years, Barnes has been an outspoken advocate for releasing HALF of Wisconsin’s prison population — a number that includes murderers, attempted murderers, and rapists. It’s a position he has refused to denounce.

BARNES: “We should process [illegal immigrants] immediately for a path to citizenship.”

Barnes is an open borders extremist who opposes border security and says it’s a “right” for illegal immigrants to receive driver’s licenses and in-state college tuition.

Barnes refused to denounce ‘defunding the police.’

Barnes has been outspoken about defunding “over-bloated” police departments — saying it “pains” him to see fully funded police budgets — and has even said “defunding isn’t necessarily as aggressive as a lot of folks paint it.”

JOHNSON: “Other than hollow, left-wing rhetoric, I'm not sure what [Mandela Barnes] has ever accomplished.”

Barnes’s biggest accomplishments as a state legislator were his proposals to end cash bail and release half of the state’s prison population.

And that’s notwithstanding Barnes being called out for denouncing American law enforcement on a Russian propaganda network, Barnes’s embrace of Biden’s inflation-inducing policies, or Barnes’s support for the job-killing Green New Deal.

Together with Democrat Gov. Tony Evers, Barnes has been an incompetent extremist for his entire tenure.

He shouldn’t be rewarded with a Senate seat.