Kentucky Senate race contenders Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican, and Alison Lundergan Grimes, Democrat, faced off for their first and likely only televised debate Monday evening on KET’s “Kentucky Tonight” with host Bill Goodman serving as moderator.

Economic issues dominated the debate, with both candidates staking their claim for having the best interest of Kentuckians in mind.

McConnell went on the offense early in the debate, saying that Grimes has “spent most of her time trying to deceive everybody about her own views.”

McConnell said that he had been part of three major bipartisan negotiations during the Obama years; the Dec. 2010 two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts, the Aug. 2011 Budget Control Act and the fiscal deal made on New Year’s Eve 2012.

“The vice president and I have negotiated every one of them,” said McConnell, who went on to say that he has been willing to work with Democrats in the past and has demonstrated this, and has agreed with President Obama on issues like negotiating trade agreements.

“What you just heard Sen. McConnell say is a complete departure from what he said to his family, the Koch brothers,” said Grimes, who accused McConnell of assuring the billionaire brothers that if reelected he would block any attempt at passing legislation like unemployment benefits or the minimum wage increase.

McConnell later accused Grimes of never mentioning coal in her meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Grimes addressed the coal issue by saying that she “recognized the reality of climate change,” but would follow common sense solutions to keep the Kentucky coal industry alive.

McConnell criticized the Obama administration for their coal-killing environmental policies, and said that America was the only developed nation that was heading in such a direction.

“Our doing it all by ourselves is going to have zero impact,” said McConnell.

Goodman asked Grimes why she has been reluctant to give an answer on whether or not she voted for Obama as president.

“Bill there’s no reluctance,” Grimes said.  “Our constitution grants, here in Kentucky, the constitutional right for privacy in the ballot box, for a secret ballot.”

Grimes later explained the difference between a “Clinton Democrat,” which she has referred to herself in the past, and an “Obama Democrat.”

“Growing the middle class the right way,” said Grimes during her response.

McConnell responded by saying that there was no difference, and that he voted for John McCain and Mitt Romney “proudly.”

A recurring issue in the debate was the minimum wage increase.  McConnell cited a Congressional Budget Report that said a raise in the minimum wage would cost between 500,000 and one million jobs, and that independent studies estimate it would cost 17,000 in Kentucky.

“There are times when a minimum wage increase would be appropriate, but not in a jobless recovery like this,” said McConnell.

Grimes took the other side of the issue, citing the same CBO report that said a minimum wage increase would lift over a million Americans out of poverty, and would help increase income for 30 percent of Kentuckians.

“He’s gotten rich while consistently voting to keep Kentucky poor,” Grimes said.

“I’m not going to let that stand,” said McConnell, who said that the bulk of his wealth came from an inheritance his wife received when her mother passed away.  “Her family has made more money off the government in the last ten years than I’ve been paid in a salary in all my time in the Senate.”

Another major issue in the race was the Affordable Care Act.  Goodman brought up the fact that Grimes in the past has said she wants the law “streamlined and fixed,” while McConnell has said he wants to repeal the health care law “root and branch.”

“The website can continue,” said McConnell, who also said that the law should still be uprooted.

Grimes said that she would work to fix the ACA, and extend the Grandfathering Clause, a provision of the ACA that was the base of the assurance that if Americans like their health plans they could keep them.

Since Republicans are predicted to take over the Senate, McConnell would become the new Majority Leader if reelected.

The midterm election is on Nov. 4th.