MADISON, Wis. — With just a week to go until Election Day, both candidates for governor are making a final push across Wisconsin for donations and votes.
Democratic incumbent Tony Evers and Republican Tim Michels have been clear about where they stand on reproductive rights, education and public safety. However, there are several less talked about issues that are still important.
Between their campaign websites and the only debate, here are three areas where the candidates differ:
Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), commonly called “red flag laws,” allow a court to determine whether a person should be stopped from purchasing or possessing firearms if they are considered a threat to themselves or others.
Tony Evers has previously called for enacting such proposals and vetoed Republican-authored legislation that would have expanded access to guns.
“Responsible gun owners don't have to worry about red flag laws because it will never be an issue for them,” Evers said during a debate hosted by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA) last month. “What we want to do is make sure that people that are in danger or are making threats or are thinking about hurting themselves, it has due process. It has to go in front of a judge.”
Tim Michels, on the other hand, worries such proposals could become an issue for responsible gun owners.
“A disgruntled ex could say 'My ex, who is a hunter, has some weapons at home, and I am afraid of that,' and without due process, those guns could be confiscated,” Michels explained during the WBA debate. “That's unconstitutional, first of all, and it is also a slippery slope.”
On the campaign trail, Michels has repeatedly said he wants to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. He has also expressed a willingness to abolish the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC), and several points in a plan outlined on his website seem to be focused on curtailing action by the agency.
“I wish all of these election integrity issues were fixed in previous administrations, but they weren't,” Michels said during the debate. “I will make sure that once I'm governor, we never have these questions again about election integrity. I will work with the legislature. We will get these bills right, the bills Gov. Evers vetoed.”
Evers has vowed to support election workers and administrators while remaining opposed to any measures that would make it more difficult for Wisconsinites to vote.
“The last election was safe, secure, and there was no fraud,” Evers told debate viewers. “Honest to gosh, the one reason people are concerned about it is because people like my opponent continue to talk about massive fraud without having any idea or any specifics. It was safe, fair, and we can have confidence in our election.”
Evers has been outspoken in his support for allowing undocumented immigrants in Wisconsin to get a driver license. He believes it would make roads safer because of the required written and driving tests. The governor also worries how such barriers could impact the state's labor force, which is already struggling.
“If those people would leave the agriculture industry, we would no longer be the dairy state, folks. We depend on that labor, and they provide great labor,” Evers said when asked by a debate moderator.
Answering the same question, Michels said he supports lawful immigration, but opposes driver licenses for illegals because it incentivizes bad behavior.
“I'm all for more immigrants in Wisconsin. We need more,” Michels said. “I just talked about help wanted signs everywhere, but we need to get them in here legally. This is a federal issue. We should expand the federal immigration plan.”