By AP/KWMU
Chicago, Ill. – Republican Alan Keyes and Democrat Barack Obama met Thursday night in Chicago in their first face-to-face television debate.
The two men are running for U.S. Senate in Illinois.
Obama said he's running for office to help save jobs and improve health care and education for Illinoisans. He argued that those were the issues that matter most to people in the state.
His conservative opponent was quick to broach his core campaign issues, including abortion. He said he's the candidate who stands in defense of unborn children and traditional marriage.
Both men also repeated their positions on the conflict in Iraq. Keyes supports White House policy; Obama criticized the administration's handling of the war.