Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Justice Louis Butler and Judge Michael Gableman debated Friday in Vilas Hall.

The debate focused on the judicial philosophies of the candidates, but also on the increasingly negative tone of the campaign.

Incumbent Justice Louis Butler said he was proud of the fact his campaign has not run any negative advertisements, and he said he wanted all advertisements funded by special interest groups to be stopped.

Burnett County Circuit Court Judge Michael Gableman is running against Butler. He said he was a judicial conservative who would not “legislate from the bench.”

During the debate, the candidates were asked to watch advertisements from each campaign. A Gableman advertisement stated Butler, when he was a public defender, helped to allow a man convicted of child molestation go free because of a legal “loophole.”

Gableman said the advertisement was justified and showed the contrasts between his background as a prosecutor and Butler.

Butler said judges and law enforcement officers around the state have criticized the advertisement for being inaccurate.

“I am troubled Gableman would belittle our constitutional right to counsel, and I am equally troubled by his cavalier disregard for accuracy,” Butler said.

The Butler advertisement said Gableman was running a “sleazy” campaign, and over 200 judges endorsed Butler. Gableman said he was endorsed by a bipartisan group of sheriffs and district attorneys, with support from law enforcement being a major theme of his campaign.

The campaign had been increasingly dominated by special interest groups spending money on negative advertisements, according to a recent report from the watchdog group the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

The report said interest groups have spent almost $2.9 million so far, but the final totals are likely to be greater.

—Megan Orear contributed to this report.