MADISON (WKOW) -- The Republican primary for the U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin is next Tuesday, so this is the homestretch weekend for the candidates.
All four debated one another Friday night on Wisconsin Public Television.
The hour long debate was divided into two issues: the economy and health care.
The candidates talked about what they'd do to create jobs while still cutting government spending to reduce the deficit.
"Yes, we're going to have to cut government spending and it will have an impact. But, if we can help private business with tax breaks and corporate deregulation, we can get the private sector moving," said businessman Eric Hovde.
"When I was in the House of Representatives and we got to a balanced budget, we re prioritized, keeping defense the highest priority of government and putting less priority on social welfare, with the understanding that people need to take more personal responsibility for their lives and less government," said former congressman Mark Neumann.
"When I was governor, I cut every department five percent. I'd do the same thing in the federal government. Everybody complained, but the truth is, state government never ran better," said former governor Tommy Thompson.
"The same way we took on collective bargaining here in the state, the same thing needs to happen on the federal level when it comes to entitlement programs. When you look at Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security, when you look at interest on debt, by the middle of the next decade every dollar coming in to the federal government would go to just those four programs," said assembly speaker Jeff Fitzgerald.
The winner of next Tuesday's primary will face Democrat Tammy Baldwin in the November general election.
