Happ, Schimel focus on differences in final debate

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The majority of the debate between attorney general candidates Susan Happ and Brad Schimel on Wednesday night was spent distinguishing themselves from the other.

Schimel, the Republican Waukesha County district attorney, and Happ, the Democratic DA from neighboring Jefferson County, both again repeated the lines that they have been saying for several months. Happ said that she would defend laws that she believes are constitutional, while Schimel said he would defend the laws passed by the state Legislature.

But during the debate, which was held at the State Bar of Wisconsin and was moderated by WISC-TV’s Eric Franke, each took jabs at the other trying to downplay their similarities.

Happ accused Schimel of being a “robot” who would not scrutinize laws and would blindly defend them. She also said he has changed his position on at least one issue — whether to defend the state’s domestic partnership registry.

Schimel, in turn, made several references to a case Happ prosecuted in Jefferson County involving Andrew Wirth, a 29-year-old man charged with gunning down Jennifer Luick and Gregg Peters in 2009.

Wirth was charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, but the jury found him guilty of a lesser offense and Wirth was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Schimel pointed to an email Happ sent out during the trial regarding self-defense that “she didn’t know the law well enough.”

Happ said that the email Schimel was referring to was being taken out of context, and that prosecutors frequently ask for advice from others.

“No matter how many times you say it, it doesn’t make it true,” Happ said to Schimel.

The debate occurred just a few hours after a Marquette University Law School poll showed that Schimel had a lead in the race, with 43-percent support among those likely to vote on Tuesday; Happ had 39 percent.

Campaigns for both candidates have turned increasingly negative as was evidenced by the more pronounced jabs at the other. Happ even said at one point that she “tone and tenor of campaign has really gotten awry.”

And both continued to touch on the issues they have for the past several months. Both said they would work to eradicate heroin abuse. Both said they did not agree that a first drunken driving offense in Wisconsin should be a criminal offense, despite 49 other states having such laws on the books.

Still, the candidates did touch on a few issues that have not received as much publicity. When asked what each candidate would do to support prosecutor’s offices statewide, Schimel said he would work to move the State Prosecutor’s Office from underneath the Department of Administration to the Department of Justice.

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He said that putting it at the DOA was a “political mistake” made in 1990, when the assistant district attorneys became state employees.

“As long as nothing’s on fire, they don’t really do much for us” he said of the DOA’s support.

Happ, meanwhile, said she thinks “they keep doing what they’ve been doing,” while noting that the DOJ’s attorneys should be available as a resource.

The candidates are running to replace outgoing Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who has held the office since 2006.

Both said they are, as Schimel said, “ready to go statewide,” even if it means they will be managing offices much larger than they currently run. Follow @eheisigWLJ