Personally, having liveblogged the last 35 minutes or so of the debate Wednesday night, I thought the debate was a tie. Both Scott Fitzgerald and Lori Compas were much better debaters than I thought they would be. I thought prior to the debate that Fitzgerald would make himself look like a even bigger jerk than he normally is, and that Compas would be completely unprepared for the debate.
Senator Fitzgerald, by and large, defended his record of using thuggish tactics in order to advance Governor Walker's big-ticket legislation, such as Act 10, the fiscal-less "Budget Repair Bill" that stripped collective bargaining from public-sector employees, and Acts 43 and 44, the redistricting legislation commonly known on here as the "Fitzmander". Compas, by and large, went on offense the entire debate by attacking Fitzgerald's record, and, despite being a political newcomer, was well-prepared for the debate and did not seem nervous at all.
Surprisingly, given how politically polarized the media in Wisconsin and the rest of the county is, the moderator for the debate was a true moderator, asking hardball questions to both Fitzgerald and Compas. The crowd got a bit excited at times, and the moderator, on several occasions, asked for the crowd to quiet down, and, at one point, a heckler was ejected from the auditorium where the debate was being held.
While I am not a resident of Wisconsin, the recall elections in Wisconsin on June 5 have national implications. I am asking all non-Wisconsinites like myself to use the tag "We are ALL Wisconsin" in diaries from now until after the recall elections.
Link to Lori Compas's campaign website
Link to Lori Compas's ActBlue webpage