UPDATED 1:45 p.m.
Posted Friday, May 25, 2012 --- 6:05 a.m.

**NOTE: You can watch the debate tonight LIVE on NBC15 and NBC15.com

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett are scheduled to meet for the first of two live debates in advance of the June 5 recall election.

Friday's debate in Milwaukee is being broadcast live statewide at 8 p.m. Friday and sponsored by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.

Walker and Barrett will meet for a second and final debate Thursday night, also in Milwaukee.

Both candidates are familiar with one another, having run against each other in 2010. Walker's time as Milwaukee County executive also overlapped with Barrett's time as mayor from 2004 until 2010.

Recent polls have shown Walker with a narrow lead heading into the election, which has attracted national attention given the high profile fight over union rights that triggered the recall effort.

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.