Bootlickers, suck-ups and pals: The top attacks from Monday’s big debates

Candidates running in pivotal races across the country this November faced off Monday night in three different debates, all of which veered at one point or another into personal rebukes and accusations.

Perhaps no debate was more testy than the one between Ohio Senate hopefuls Republican J.D. Vance and Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, who went after one another over who was the bigger “ass-kisser” or “suck-up” to their respective party leaders. The debate turned nasty as Ryan blasted Vance for his closeness to former President Donald Trump, and Vance responded by repeatedly linking Ryan to Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

In Utah, Senate candidates Mike Lee, the Republican incumbent, and Evan McMullin, an independent, clashed over Lee's independence from Trump. They also sparred over partisanship, with Lee implying that Democrats were McMullin’s “adopted party,” and McMullin bringing up texts Lee reportedly sent positively discussing Trump’s legal woes.

Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and his Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams renewed their rivalry at Monday’s debate, sparring over combating crime and managing Covid. A third candidate, Libertarian Party nominee Shane Hazel, tempered the bitter rivalry between Kemp and Abrams by taking shots at each of them on their positions on education and the economy.

Here are the highlights from each of the three debates:

Rep. Tim Ryan vs. J.D. Vance in Youngstown, Ohio

— Vance on Ryan's TV spot: “It’s actually a pretty funny TV commercial … where he says he only agrees with his own wife 70% of the time. Yet he votes and agrees with Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time. It must make things a little awkward in the Ryan household.”

— Ryan on Vance's repeated attacks tying him to Pelosi: “You keep talking about Nancy Pelosi. If you want to run against Nancy Pelosi, move back to San Francisco and run against Nancy Pelosi. You’re running against me.”

— Vance on Ryan's voting record: “The critical issue here is that Tim Ryan says he’s reasonable, keeps saying he’s a moderate ... but when he gets to Washington he votes the opposite way.”

— Ryan on Vance's about-face on Trump: "You were calling Trump America's Hitler, and then you kissed his ass, and then he endorsed you."

Sen. Mike Lee vs. Evan McMullin in Orem, Utah

— Lee on McMullin's run as an independent: “Parties are an important proxy. They’re an important proxy for ideas. You’re asking the people to put faith, blind trust in you. … That’s not how we lead to a good policy outcome.”

— McMullin's attack on Lee's fealty to Trump: “I’m not going to Washington, if we prevail, to be a bootlicker for Donald Trump or Joe Biden. And that’s a commitment I’ve made to putting Utah first.”

— Lee zinger: McMullin voted for Biden for president in 2020.

— McMullin zinger: Lee voted for McMullin for president in 2016.

Stacey Abrams vs. Gov. Brian Kemp in Atlanta

— Abrams on crime in Georgia: “We have a governor who has weakened gun laws in this state, flooded our streets with guns by letting dangerous people get access to these weapons.”

— Kemp on crime in Georgia: "The largest-, fastest-growing segment of the population that's buying handguns and firearms is African Americans and females. You know why? Because the criminals are the only ones that do have the guns."

— Abrams' response to Kemp's question about whether any law enforcement organizations endorsed her: “Mr. Kemp, what you are attempting to do is continue the lie that you’ve told so many times, I think you believe it’s the truth. I support law enforcement and did so for 11 years, [and] worked closely with the Sheriffs' Association.”

— Kemp's rebuttal to Abrams on law enforcement endorsements: “No sheriffs are endorsing her statewide because of her stances on wanting to defund the police, eliminate cash bail and serving on the boards of organizations like the Marguerite Casey Foundation that supports and gives grants to organizations that are promoting the defund-the-police movement."