Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) announced Thursday he wants to debate Ron Johnson on six occasions before the Nov. 2 election, with the first proposed debate to follow Tuesday's primary.
Feingold said hearing from both candidates in an honest environment would benefit Wisconsin residents.
""There are clear differences in this election and voters deserve to have me and my opponent meet face to face to debate the issues,"" he said.
Johnson, who is running against David Westlake in the Republican primary, would not make the decision on how many debates would take place until after Tuesday's primary, according to his communication director. Johnson is widely considered the favorite to win the Republican nomination.
According to political science professor Charles Franklin, Feingold has the upper hand when it comes to debates because he is the more experienced candidate.
""It is to Feingold's advantage to have the largest amount of debates because it seems his larger knowledge will pay dividends there,"" Franklin said. ""From Feingold's view it gives Johnson more opportunity to make mistakes.""
Johnson has fared well in the public eye lately, Franklin said. He said Johnson may be hesitant to participate in all six debates because he wants to keep his message solid.
According to pollster.com, Johnson has a slight edge over Feingold, although the only recent polls are from polling agency Rasmussen.
Franklin said this political season favors Republicans, but the results of polls are more uncertain when there is a single pollster producing results.
""Whatever we think the race is today would have to be taken with a pretty big grain of salt,"" he said.
The polls mostly show GOP vocalization, Franklin said. Earlier in the summer, when Johnson had received the Republican endorsement, he was shown to be trailing to Feingold by a few percentage points.
""Since then Johnson has become better know and now leads Feingold by one or two points,"" Franklin said.
