Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Colin Allred shook hands to start their Tuesday night debate, and then the gloves came off. The candidates for U.S. Senate attacked each other’s positions and character as they sparred over hot-button issues that included abortion, immigration and the economy.

Here are some things that stood out:

Race to the center

Allred wasted little time hitting one of his top talking points, using his opening statement to portray himself as “the most bipartisan Texan in Congress” since being sworn in to the U.S. House in 2019. That, he said, makes him “the exact opposite” of Cruz, who he described as the most extreme senator in Washington.

Cruz positioned himself as an effective lawmaker who has passed 101 pieces of legislation, including bipartisan bills to create new interstates.

“That was Raphael Warnock and me,” he said of a bill with the Georgia Democrat to create an interstate from Texas to the Atlantic Ocean. “A liberal Democrat. Cruz-Warnock. We passed it.”

Cruz also cast himself as a strong supporter of in vitro fertilization, calling out Senate Democrats for “very cynically” opposing his bill to protect IVF access. And while he strongly opposes allowing transgender girls in girls’ sports, he said every child should be protected from harm or discrimination “regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity.”

Allred called Cruz a hyperpartisan who was “trying to change his image in this election year.”

Since the beginning of his political career, Allred said, he has reached across the aisle, noting 70% of the bills he’s co-sponsored have been bipartisan. He also pointed to the Jefferson-Hamilton Award for Bipartisanship he received from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“So that is not in question,” Allred said to Cruz. “What is in question is your recent transition to trying to be someone that wants to actually get things done instead of being a hyperpartisan.”

Cruz tied Allred to Harris and himself to Trump

Cruz repeatedly linked Allred to the policies of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as he sought to portray his opponent as a radical Democrat whose positions are too extreme for Texas.

Related:10 things to know about Sen. Ted Cruz, seeking reelection against Democrat Colin Allred

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Allred and Harris, Cruz argued, are not only running on the same agenda, they’re indistinguishable from each other. Even Allred’s debate style “reminded me of Kamala Harris in her debate,” Cruz said.

“Understand at home, Colin Allred is Kamala Harris,” Cruz said. “Their records are the same. I’ve served with both of them. They voted in favor of open borders over and over and over again, and now they are desperately trying to hide that from the voters.”

Cruz also stressed his role working beside Donald Trump, saying he urged the former president to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, encouraged him to pull out of a nuclear deal with Iran and “worked hand in hand” with him to secure the southern border.

“We achieved incredible success,” Cruz said. “We produced the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. That’s what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris inherited. It’s what Colin Allred inherited, and they deliberately broke it and opened the border, and Texas is paying the price.”

Recent polls have shown Trump running stronger in Texas than Cruz.

Allred sharpened his attacks on Cruz’s character

Allred has sought to make the race a referendum on Cruz’s time in office, decrying the senator as a “me guy” most interested in looking out for himself.

The Democrat took some of his hardest swings yet during the debate, saying the senator was lying about Allred’s record, just as he lied about fraud in the 2020 election. “You’ve been seeing him lie to you for 12 years,” said Allred, who also repeatedly mentioned Cruz’s trip to Mexico during the 2021 winter storm.

He said Cruz has been one of the country’s most divisive senators.

“He has introduced this new kind of anger-tainment, where you just get people upset and then you podcast about it and you write a book about it and you make some money on it, but you’re not actually there when people need you,” Allred said. “Like when the lights went out, when 30 million Texans were relying on a senator to spring into action, he went to Cancun. That’s who he is.”

Cruz has written several books featuring sharp attacks against Democrats. The most recent publishing agreement, reported on his financial disclosure forms, included a $1.1 million advance for two books.

Cruz has said he is not paid for his three-times-a-week podcast. Hundreds of thousands in advertising revenue from the podcast has flowed to a pro-Cruz super PAC, an arrangement critics say could violate campaign finance laws.

Cruz has defended the time and energy he spends on the podcast, saying it’s important to bypass biased news outlets and share with people what’s really happening in Washington.

Cruz got in shots as well during Tuesday night’s debate as he focused on what he characterized as a glaring disconnect between Allred’s moderate rhetoric and an “extreme” voting record.

“Congressman Allred wants to destroy what we’ve got in Texas because he shares Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris’ values,” Cruz said in his closing statement.

The stage is set for a run to Election Day

For a race already dominated by negative ads, Allred and Cruz’s approach to the debate reflected where the campaigns are likely to head in the final three weeks.

Allred sought to capitalize on negative perceptions of Cruz while presenting himself as an acceptable alternative for independents and moderate Republicans who have grown weary of the incumbent.

During a debate question on illegal immigration and border security, for example, he said Cruz has done nothing to address the situation.

“This is a pattern. He talks tough, but he never shows up,” Allred said. “We have a phrase for this in Texas: all hat and no cattle. That’s what Senator Cruz is.”

Signaling to right-leaning voters that it’s OK to vote for a Democrat, Allred noted that former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, endorsed him over Cruz.

Cruz sought to puncture such talk by repeatedly citing specific votes Allred cast on immigration, abortion and LGBTQ rights that he said are too extreme for the state.

He said Allred’s past support for positions advocated by Democratic Party leaders such as Pelosi demonstrates that he is not on the side of Texas oil and gas production.

“His words sound good, but his voting record, remember, his first four years in the House, he voted 100% with Nancy Pelosi,” Cruz said. “He didn’t deviate on a single vote, which meant he voted against oil and gas and Texas jobs repeatedly.”