This week's Midday podcast covers U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes facing off for the first time in a debate ahead of the November election. Dem Gov. Tony Evers and GOP candidate Tim Michels will likely face off over crime, abortion and education issues in their first debate this week.

This week's Midday podcast covers the Legislature quickly gaveling in and out of a special session Gov. Tony Evers called to take up a measure that would allow voters to weigh in on statewide referendums. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson also this week pitched his idea to have a 10-option referendum on when abortions should be allowed.

The Republican Party of Wisconsin this week filed two more lawsuits against the government as the November general approaches. One of those seeks to stop Milwaukee from working with private funders in a GOTV program. The other suit seeks to obtain communication records regarding staffing and abuse issues at a Union Grove veterans home.

This week's Midday podcast covers Gov. Tony Evers' call to convene a special session of the Legislature to take up a constitutional amendment to allow voters to pass legislation via referendum. Ever's promoted it as a way to overturn the state's 1849 abortion ban, but Republicans have signaled they won't back the measure. Since Evers' call, GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels said he would sign a bill to create exceptions to the state's abortion ban for rape and incest.

Today's Midday podcast covers three election-related lawsuits that involve the Wisconsin Elections Commission, federal courts, county courts and the Wisconsin Supreme Court. WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe at a WisPolitics.com Luncheon said the increasing amount of litigation is creating even more work for the commission.

Today's Midday podcast covers President Joe Biden and Gov. Tony Evers visiting Milwaukee's Laborfest on Monday to tout their support for unions and labor. GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels outside the event slammed Biden's student loan forgiveness program and festival goers inside had a range of thoughts on the $10,000 - $20,000 debt forgiveness.

This week's Midday podcast covers Assembly Speaker Robin Vos firing former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman from his job investigating the 2020 election. Vos also withdrew subpoenas that would have forced mayors of the state's five largest municipalities to testify in private in Gableman's office, which caused a Waukesha County judge to dismiss the case in which the subpoenas were filed.

Today's Midday podcast covers the newly announced site for the type 1 facility in Milwaukee slated to replace the state's juvenile prison in Lincoln County. But building that new facility alone won't mean Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, where juvenile girl offenders are also kept in Lincoln County, will close any time soon.

This week's Midday podcast covers results from the August primary election on Tuesday in the gubernatorial, attorney general, 63rd AD and secretary of state races. Trump-backed Tim Michels will face Gov. Tony Evers as GOP Fond du Lac Co. DA Eric Toney faces Dem AG Josh Kaul and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos holds onto the Republican endorsement for his 63rd AD seat.

This week's Midday podcast covers what Republican gubernatorial candidates are up to the week ahead of Tuesday's primary election. Construction business exec Tim Michels changes his stances on backing Trump in 2024 ahead of the former president's Wisconsin visit and former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch knocks Michels over an attack ad.