Raw video
Walker, Barrett argue over job numbers, collective bargaining in first debate
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MADISON- Scott Walker and Tom Barrett been taking shots at each other on the campaign trail for weeks.
Until now, the candidates had been battling it out over the airwaves and for the first time Friday night, the fight was face to face and there was no shortage of fireworks in the gubernatorial recall race.
After a coin toss to determine who would start things off, no topic was off the table. And the hot ones took center stage, including jobs.
"(The voters) understand the real issue is jobs and they want a governor who's going to focus on jobs in this state," said Barrett.
"Last year, Wisconsin gained jobs and and more than 30,000 jobs in the state," argued Walker.
The John Doe investigation surrounding Governor Walker, "They want to focus on this because they're desperate," argued Walker.
"The people in the state have the right to know who's paying his criminal defense fees," said Barrett.
Another topic was campaign funding from out of state, "There is something wrong when the sitting governor raises 70 percent from people who live out of state," exclaimed Barrett.
"We wouldn't have to raise or spend a penny if it weren't for out of state special interests," retorted Walker.
The issue of collective bargaining was brought up -- the issue that started the recall effort. "My problem was I fixed it then I talked about it, in the future we're going to fix it and talk about it," said Walker.
"You decided to use a budget crisis to divide and conquer that's what happened, and you succeeded in dividing the state," noted Barrett.
They also discussed gay marriage, education, taxes, and the mining bill.
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