The debate, held at Marquette University in Milwaukee, saw Johnson pitted against his Democratic challenger, Mandela Barnes, the state’s lieutenant governor. However, the final question wasn’t about what policies they would pursue in the US Congress, but of a more personal nature: each was asked what they found admirable about their opponent.
Charles Benson, a journalist for NBC local affiliate TMJ4 who co-moderated the debate, said the question arose after voters surveyed said they were tired “of divisive politics and attack ads.”
Barnes answered the question straight: “the senator has proven to be a family man, and I think that’s admirable. You know, that’s absolutely to be respected. He speaks about his family. [He’s] done a lot to provide for them. I absolutely respect that.”
“I mean, likewise,” Johnson replied. “I appreciate the fact that Lt. Gov. Barnes had loving parents, a school teacher, father who worked third shift. So he had a good upbringing.”
However, his answer then took a turn for the hostile.
“I guess what puzzles me about that is with that upbringing, why has he turned against America?” he asked.
The surprise attack drew boos from the crowd.
It’s unclear what specifically prompted Johnson’s statement, although he has taken many hard-line conservative stances on issues, most notably siding with former US President Donald Trump’s claims that the November 2020 election was fraudulently won by Democrats.
Earlier in the debate, Johnson drew cackles from the audience when he suggested that the FBI had “set me up” for trying to expose what he called “corruption” in the Bureau that had led to it targeting Trump.
A poll released earlier this week by Marquette University Law School showed Johnson has a slight lead over Barnes, with 52% of responding voters saying they would vote for the incumbent and 46% saying they would vote for Barnes. The election is on November 8.