Dem Sen. Tammy Baldwin, with nine terms in Congress, pushes Supreme Court term limits in heated debate

WATERTOWN, Wis.— In a tightly controlled debate format, Democratic Sen.

Tammy Baldwin and Republican businessman Eric Hovde traded barbs Friday night in their first and likely only face-off, hosted by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.Baldwin and Hovde — in a tight race Cook Political Report just changed to a toss-up with the Democrat ahead by 1 point — accused each other of lying and staked out their policy positions during the frequently contentious debate.But both candidates agreed on one thing — undefined tough ethics standards and term limits for judges on the nation’s highest court. One panelist on the debate’s “question team” cited a recent Marquette Law School Poll finding that 90% of national voters favor “enforcing a strict ethics code for Supreme Court justices.” Supreme Court concerns aren’t one of the top eight election issues Wisconsin registered voters identified, but abortion policy is the third-most important for voters overall and the top for Democratic voters, per Marquette.

Baldwin, who served seven terms in the House and is running for her third Senate term, took aim at judges former President Donald Trump chose in her response. “When we hear stories that private interests have paid off mortgages and vehicle loans, that is outrageous.We need a binding, tough standard of ethics and conduct.

We’re also very distrustful now of the court because we saw three Trump-appointed nominees lie to the Judiciary Committee about their respect for precedent,” she said, presumably referring to Roe v.Wade’s overturn. “So I think an examination of term limits for the Supreme Court in a way that doesn’t advantage one party or the other because we don’t know who will be president when those term limits come up.”Hovde agreed — to a point.

“I think we should absolutely have a code of ethics for the justices,” he said.“I don’t think they should be engaging in any kind of private investment in the stock m...