Recapping last week's debates: As midterms near, candidates spar on abortion, Jan. 6, education and more

It's been one of the busiest weeks for candidate debates, from an escalating face-off between Georgia House rivals to a contentious Senate debate in Florida days later.

The debates come as the midterm election approaches in a year when control of Congress hangs in the balance and both parties are jockeying for power.

In Georgia, Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, a congresswoman with a penchant for controversial remarks, took the stage Sunday night to debate her challenger, Democrat Marcus Flowers. Their exchanges quickly became heated, with the first question sparking arguments over the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Greene told Flowers and viewers she "was a victim" of the day's events, "just as much as any other member of Congress.”

Here's a look at what else happened during this week's round of debates:

Greene vs. Flowers

Greene is the incumbent for Georgia's district 14 House seat, which represents the state's deep red northwestern counties. Flowers said he chose to run against Greene because of what he said was her role in spreading lies that led to the January 6 riot.

The two also came to head on the topic of transgender rights, when Greene asked Flowers his position on her Protect Children's Innocence Act, a bill she introduced to the House in August that would make gender-affirming care a felony.

“Kids need to grow up. They do not need to have mastectomies, castration or take dangerous drugs,” Greene said, calling Democrats like Flowers the "party of child abuse."

After telling her, "I'm praying for you," Flowers responded to Greene by saying: “I believe in standing up for human rights. People come up to me every day and tell me how they feel attacked by you, and yes, I’m talking about children in our LGBTQ+ community.”

Brian Kemp vs. Stacey Abrams

Monday was a particularly busy night of debates, kicking off with the showdown between nominees for Georgia's gubernatorial race, Republican incumbent Kemp, Democratic nominee Abrams and Libertarian Shane Hazel. Discussions centered on crime and education.

In a debate for what is one of the most competitive governor's races, Abrams accused the incumbent of weakening gun control laws during his time in office.

Kemp responded: “The largest, fastest growing segment of the population buying handguns and firearms are African Americans and females. You know why? Because criminals are the ones that do have the guns."

"We can protect the second Amendment and second-graders," Abrams shot back.

J.D. Vance vs. Tim Ryan

At the same time Monday night, Senate candidates Vance and Ryan were facing one another in Ohio, in their second– and final – debate this year. Each nominee used part of their time on stage to try to prove themselves independent from party leaders like former President Trump, who has endorsed challenger Vance, or President Biden, who Ryan has voted with 100% of the time in Congress.

The most intense moments revolved around the topic of immigration. Pouncing on Vance's response to previous statements on the campaign trail about an immigrant "invasion," Ryan accused his opponent of propagating the "great replacement theory," which proclaims non-white immigrants are coming to the U.S. to replace white voters.

“Here’s exactly what happens when the media and people like Tim Ryan accuse me of engaging the great replacement theory," Vance, who is married to a south Asian woman, responded. "My own children, my biracial children, get attacked by scumbags online and in person because you are so desperate for political power.”

Mike Lee vs. Evan McMullin

Another Monday night debate in the red state of Utah saw former president Trump as a recurring topic of discussion between Republican Senator Lee and Independent challenger McMullin.

• "That I've been a bootlicker for either party is folly, and it's contradicted by the plain facts," Lee said.

• “Senator Lee, that was the most egregious betrayal of our nation’s Constitution in its history by a U.S. Senator, I believe, and it will be your legacy,” McMullin said about text messages from Lee to Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows asking how to contribute to efforts challenging the 2020 election results.

Kim Reynolds vs. Deidre DeJear

The only debate between nominees for Iowa's gubernatorial race, Reynolds and DeJear, featured questions on education and tax cuts Monday night, along with the most contentious exchange on abortion.

• "I believe we should do everything we can to protect the life of the unborn," Reynolds said on the topic of a bill she signed in 2018, which at the time was the most restrictive abortion law in the country.

• "I am not going to criminalize women, I am not going to criminalize nurses, I am not going to criminalize doctors," DeJear responded. "I believe that it is undemocratic and irresponsible for us to try to dictate in black and white this situation that has infinite variables as it relates to pregnancy."

JB Pritzker vs. Darren Bailey

In the second debate between candidates for Illinois governor, Pritzker and Bailey went back and forth Tuesday on issues including crime and education.

• "I've got a new name for Chicago," Bailey, the Republican nominee, said. "I'm going to call it Pritzkerville because every one of Governor Pritzker's extreme policies are destroying the city."

• "The fact is Darren Bailey has proven that he would be dangerous for our kids, for our parents, for our communities, if he were put in charge of public education," said Pritzker, the Democratic incumbent who accused his opponent at the debate of wanting to "defund education."

Tim Walz vs. Scott Jensen

Democratic Gov. Walz faced Republican challenger Jensen in the pair's first televised debate Tuesday, where they sparred on topics including the civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd in 2020, as well as on crime and abortion.

• "I'm proud of Minnesota’s response," Walz said. "I’m proud of Minnesota’s first-responders who were out there, from firefighters to police to the National Guard, to citizens that were out there."

• "You heard it here," Jensen said in response. "Gov. Walz just told you ‘I am proud of Minnesota’s response,’ referring to the riots in May and June of 2020. Wow ... Burn that into your psyche, Minnesota."

• While Jensen largely tried to dodge questions on abortion, his opponent Walz said: "In my entire career I’ve trusted women to make their health care decisions. I don’t believe anybody who sits in this office should come between them."

Marco Rubio vs. Val Demings

Many hot-button issues Tuesday were on the table during the first and only debate between Florida Senate candidates Rubio and Demings. The Republican incumbent and Democratic U.S. Representative exchanged bitter remarks, including accusations by Rubio that Demings is the abortion extremist of the pair and a comment by Demings that her opponent has "never done anything but run his mouth."

Rubio said in the debate he has supported past abortion bills that included exceptions for rape or incest, and that he respects that "that’s where the majority of the American people are." He then accused Demings of favoring abortions up to the point of birth, which she said was a misrepresentation of her position.

“We are not going back,” Demings said, “to a time when women are treated like second-class citizens or property.”

Candidates also answered questions on immigration and border security, to which Rubio had the first response. Asked if he supports the Biden administration's Title 42, which is reminiscent of Trump's Remain in Mexico policy and denies amnesty for Venezuelan migrants, Rubio said: "I sympathize deeply with what these people are facing,” but that he does not believe the U.S. can permit the number of immigrants arriving at the border.

“We need to make sure that the men and women at the borders have the resources that they need," Demings said in her response on the issue.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Midterm debates: Recapping matches for Senate, governor and more