The University of Wisconsin–Madison hosted a candidate forum between Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and Republican candidate Erik Olsen at the Red Gym Wednesday ahead of the Nov. 5 race for the 2nd Congressional District seat.
During the debate, moderated by political science professor and Elections Research Center director Barry Burden, the candidates shared their stances on student-related issues and what they hoped to achieve if elected to office. Here are three key takeaways from the debate.
Pocan hopes to codify abortion rights, Olsen says ‘abortion is killing’
Pocan expressed unwavering support for abortion rights and said he hopes to codify federal abortion protections into law because “women have a right to make medical decisions about their own bodies.”
Abortion rights have been a critical issue for Wisconsin voters in recent years. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending a constitutionally protected right to abortion access. The ruling caused an 1849 Wisconsin law to go back into effect, banning all abortions in the state with no exception for rape or incest.
Abortion services resumed in the state in September 2023 following a Dane County Circuit Court judge’s ruling that the 1849 law applies only to feticide, not consensual abortions.
Pocan said the law is unfair, feeling it “paternalistically” tells women how to behave.
“We need to start respecting women, and you do that by not having that 1849 law in Wisconsin,” Pocan said.
In 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would codify Roe v. Wade and restore abortion access nationwide, but the Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked the bill.
In contrast, Olsen said he believes “abortion is killing” but thinks there is a “way to end abortion” without “taking away anyone’s choices” by helping people make “good decisions.”
Olsen later clarified he does not plan to “meddle” in the issue of abortion at the national level, as he feels the Supreme Court’s decision made it “abundantly clear” it is an issue for states to decide.
Pocan wants federal marijuana reform, Olsen says the issue should be left to states
Pocan expressed frustrations with inconsistent marijuana laws in the U.S., saying he hopes to implement more uniform regulations between federal and state governments. He said “the time has more than come” for marijuana reform on the national level.
“We just have a very backward stance. The fact that we still have it as a Schedule I[drug] like heroin makes no sense whatsoever,” Pocan said.
Despite legalization in 24 states, federal law still prohibits people from depositing money into a bank that was obtained from selling marijuana. Last year, Congress introduced the Safe Banking Act, which would allow people to deposit money from state-sanctioned marijuana businesses into a bank.
Pocan expressed full support for the bill’s aim and opposed keeping regulations prohibiting legal marijuana businesses putting money in a bank.
Olsen took a similar stance on the issue, saying that despite not being in favor of marijuana use, he feels federal banking regulations are “utterly ridiculous.” Olsen also said he feels federal marijuana regulations are part of an overall problem of too much national regulation on “state affairs.”
“It's a free country, and people get to do what they want, and each state has to make up its mind as to how it wants to deal with that particular situation without the meddling of the federal government,” Olsen said.
According to a 2022 Marquette Law School poll, 61% of people are in favor of legalizing Marijuana in Wisconsin, the highest percentage of support since the poll first started asking about legalization in 2013.
TikTok could be a threat to U.S. users, Olsen says
Burden brought up the topic of the social media app TikTok, asking each candidate to weigh in on its potential threat to national security. Olsen expressed concern with widespread use of the app, claiming its affiliation with Chinese company ByteDance could pose a threat to users in the U.S.
“Every company in China is actually an appendage of the Chinese Communist Party,” Olsen said.
Earlier this year, Congress passed a bill forcing the sale of TikTok to a U.S. based company. In April, President Joe Biden signed the bill into law, giving ByteDance until Jan. 19, 2025 to sell the app.
Olsen said if the U.S. Government has “any inkling” that the Chinese government is “manipulating” the U.S. “with one of its companies,” Congress should force the sale of TikTok to a U.S.-based company.
Pocan called the law on TikTok “one of the dumb things [Congress] did this year,” telling the audience that he had been to classified congressional briefings about the app’s potential danger and said there was nothing “worthwhile” that would prove TikTok was any security risk.
“I don't need octogenarians who don't know how to use social media giving us legislative advice on what to actually do and what social platforms to actually have control over,” Pocan said.
Pocan and Olsen will face off for the 2nd Congressional District seat on Nov. 5. Voters can find their polling place by visiting the MyVote Wisconsin website.
