7 key takeaways from the Lindsey Graham, Jaime Harrison debate

A particularly 2020 debate takeaway: It is notable that we could hear what both candidates said.

And the only time they were interrupted? That was by the moderator strongly enforcing the rules.

Overall, decorum returned to the political debate stage on Saturday as Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic challenger Jamie Harrison faced off for the first time. The 60-minute debate focused on their records and their often-clashing ideas after the first presidential debate on Tuesday devolved into mostly crosstalk.

Graham is a Republican from Seneca seeking his fourth term. Harrison is a former chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party who lives in Columbia.

Here is a closer look at what they said and did Saturday night, from themes of the evening to the big moments:

Graham describes 'nightmare scenario'

In his first minute of speaking time, Graham laid out what he thinks this race is really about: capitalism versus socialism, conservative judges versus liberal judges, and law and order versus chaos.

Graham also continually brought up "liberal Democrats," calling the party "radical" — and he said that those running the party today are "nuts."

"This election is about taking me out" because he "stood up for Kavanaugh" during Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing and is now one of President Donald Trump's most vocal supporters, Graham said. "They hate me. This is not about Mr. Harrison."

Related: Sen. Lindsey Graham drops F-bomb, claims anti-Trump bias

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And if Democrats "keep the House, take over the Senate and Biden is president, God help us all," he said. The Democratic Party's complete control is a "nightmare scenario," he said.

Graham claimed the Democratic party would use that power to eliminate the electoral college and stack the court with liberal judges.

'If you want conservative judges, I'm your only bet in this race," he said.

'Well, Senator, how good is your word?'

Harrison clearly had a strategy Saturday to question past Graham statements and pledges throughout his 25-year history in public office.

Harrison noted that Graham is going back on his promise to not support a Supreme Court nominee this close to an election.

'Well, Senator, how good is your word when you made a promise to the American people — even more, you made a promise to the folks of South Carolina that you wouldn't be doing what you are doing right now," Harrison said.

Graham, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, reiterated this weekend that he plans to move forward with a crucial confirmation hearing for Trump's U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. Graham said the president "has every right to do this."

Harrison also claimed that the senator, when he was a congressman, said he would term-limit himself. "If you don't believe me, Google it," Harrison said.

Graham had a simple response. "You can limit my term Nov. 3 if you like."

The questions were so 2020. So was the scene

Most queries were coronavirus-related questions, but others touched on topics from abortion to climate change and from police reform to negative advertising in political campaigns. Some questions were local, including ones about South Carolina infrastructure investment, historically Black colleges and universities, and tourism.

Coronavirus also shaped the stage and the scene. The candidates' podiums stood 13 feet apart, and no spectators were allowed in the audience at Allen University.

Harrison also said he brought the plexiglass barricade installed near his setup. That image yielded the first viral tweet of the night.

So, what did they say about the coronavirus?

Graham called the virus "serious." But he also stressed that "we have to move on as a nation." He noted that vaccines should be "ready any month now, maybe sooner," and that drug therapies" are working.

He said he is not going to "shut down" the nation. "This virus is going to pass," Graham said.

Harrison instead said there had been "a failure in leadership" in addressing the pandemic, saying America needed a 50-state strategy.

“We failed to act," Harrison said. "The Senate failed to act. The White House failed to act. The governors failed to act. We need leaders who are going to step up and act.”

He said there was a need for a mask mandate, more testing in South Carolina and more federal benefits to those left unemployed due to the coronavirus.

Graham said he believed some of the unemployed were refusing to go back to work because they were being paid more in benefits than they did on the job.

They agreed — more than once

They both said climate change was real but that they didn't support the New Green Deal, a Democratic-led congressional resolution to fight climate change.

They both said they don't want to defund police departments. They want to protect social security. And they both claimed they would reach across the aisle in the spirit of bipartisanship as South Carolina's senator.

They both got personal

Each relied upon a resume of resilience rooted in humble South Carolina.

Harrison, 44, introduced himself as the son of a teenage mother who was raised by grandparents who had less than a high school education. He spoke of how he graduated from Yale and Georgetown Law. Later, he spoke of his great-aunt, who died due to the coronavirus in a nursing home.

Graham, 65, also spoke about humble South Carolina roots. He brought up on a few occasions his family's businesses of a restaurant-bar-and-liquor store. He spoke about how when he was 21, his mother died of cancer, and after his father died 15 months later, Graham became the caretaker of his younger sister.

That's not to say the debate didn't get a bit feisty there at the end

The final moments of exchanges felt a bit more like clashing campaign advertisements than a debate.

After Harrison brought up paying off his student loans, Graham asked why he couldn't pay this debt because of riches earned as a lobbyist, a point made in Graham campaign advertisements.

Harrison countered in rebuttal.

"You are worried about everybody's else paycheck other than your own," said Harrison, raising the issue that Graham voted for his own raises.

Harrison also said he helps financially support his sons, wife and his mother.

In the final 20 seconds, Graham started to explain how he supports his aunt and his niece. But moderator Judi Gaston cut him off.

The debate, she said, was over. Then, she mentioned what was next.

In-person absentee voting in South Carolina starts Monday.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Lindsey Graham, Jamie Harrison debate: 7 key takeaways