Tonight, we take a break from the live local news.

The August primary is less than two weeks away, and so instead, we bring you a candidate forum on carceral justice, presented by local organization MOSES: Madison Organizing in Strength, Equality, and Solidarity for Criminal Justice Reform.

The first hour of the forum will feature the voices of people impacted by the criminal justice system, and you'll hear candidates signal whether they agree or disagree with the questions posed. In the second hour, you'll hear about the candidates' platforms.

All declared candidates running in the Democratic primary for Senate Districts 16 and 26 were invited to attend.

Candidates running to represent the 26th State Senate District (to replace outgoing Senator Fred Risser): Nada Elmikashfi, Aisha Moe, Brian Benford, Amani Latimer Burris, William Davis III, Kelda Roys, John Imes. The winner of the August primary in this race will face no Republican challenger and will be unopposed in November.

Candidates for the 16th State Senate District (to replace outgoing Senator Mark Miller): Melissa Sargent and Andrew McKinney will face off in the Democratic primary. The winner will face off against Republican Scott Barker in November.

The views represented in this forum do not necessarily represent the views of WORT, its staff, volunteers, reporters, or Board of Directors. However, our news department thinks it's important to bring these issues to your ears, and hear the voices of people impacted by criminal justice.