With just a few weeks to go before the general election, Democratic Governor Jim Doyle and Republican challenger Congressman Mark Green will meet tonight in their second broadcast debate.
But if you're expecting an in depth exchange on real issues, UW political scientist Charles Franklin says you might be surprised. He predicts most of tonight's debate will focus on criticisms being fired off by each candidate. Franklin says that's not much different than the political ads currently airing on television.
Franklin says Mark Green needs to move beyond just criticism and tell voters exactly how he would change things. While Governor Doyle needs to hammer home how he fixed inherited problems with little pain to the state.
The debate comes on the heels of a new poll of likely voters that shows Doyle's lead over Green has fallen off by 3 points from last month, although he's still about six points ahead. Franklin thinks the race for governor will be fairly tight in the end.