Wisconsin was in the spotlight as Sen. Bernie Sanders and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton debated the issues Thursday night at the Democratic presidential debate in Milwaukee.
The debate, hosted by PBS NewsHour and moderated by Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff, was broadcast nationwide on PBS stations and also on CNN.
The presidential candidates worked to demonstrate their differences on issues including health care, immigration, college affordability, foreign policy, financial reform and race relations.
Sanders played up his underdog status, describing his campaign’s unlikely rise to prominence in his opening remarks. He repeatedly railed against the country’s top earners and criticized America’s “broken” criminal justice system.
“The American people are tired of establishment politics, tired of establishment economics,” Sanders said. “They want a political revolution in which millions of Americans stand up, come together, not let the Trumps of the world divide us, and say, you know what, in this great country, we need a government that represents all of us, not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors.”
Clinton advocated for higher wages for all Americans, especially women, and said she would tackle the barriers in their way.
“I know a lot of Americans are angry about the economy, and for good cause,” Clinton said. “Americans haven’t had a raise in 15 years; there aren’t enough good paying jobs, especially for young people, and yes, the economy is rigged to benefit those at the top.”
On several occasions, they mentioned Milwaukee’s ties to national issues as they spoke at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
When Sanders pitched his plan to offer free college tuition nationwide, Clinton said the plan wasn’t realistic because of the high costs for states like Wisconsin.
“I’m a little skeptical about your governor actually caring enough about higher education to make any kind of commitment like that,” Clinton said, referring to Gov. Scott Walker.
Ifill brought up Milwaukee’s status as one of the most racially divided areas of the country and the candidates discussed how they would address race relations.
“The statistics from Wisconsin are particularly troubling, because it is the highest rate of incarceration for African-Americans in our nation, twice the national average,” Clinton said.
She described the 2014 death of African-American Dontre Hamilton at the hands of a white police officer in Milwaukee’s Red Arrow Park as “tragic,” and said she would implement change that could help prevent such a situation.
“A young man, unarmed, who should still be with us. His family certainly believes that and so do I,” Clinton said. “We have to restore policing that will actually protect the communities that police officers are sworn to protect.”
Sanders said he would undertake a radical reform of the criminal justice system if elected.
“A male African-American baby, born today, stands a one in four chance of ending up in jail. That is beyond unspeakable,” Sanders said. “At the end of my first term as president, we will not have more people in jail than any other country.”
Both candidates concluded their remarks by trying to appeal to voters who feel disenfranchised, including union members in Wisconsin.
“Here in Wisconsin, I want to reiterate: We’ve got to stand up for unions and working people who have done it before, the American middle class, and who are being attacked by ideologues, by demagogues,” Clinton said. “And we would still have governors like Scott Walker and others trying to rip out the heart of the middle class by making it impossible to organize and stand up for better wages and working conditions.”
“We are a nation where if we can come together, there is nothing we can’t accomplish,” Sanders said. “What this campaign is not only about electing someone who has the most progressive agenda, it is about bringing tens of millions of people together to demand that we have a government that represents all of us and not just the 1 percent, who today have so much economic and political power.”
After the debate, Wisconsin leaders weighed in on how the candidates performed.
See a photo gallery from the debate and related events shot by Milwaukee photographer Lila Aryan for PBS NewsHour.
