DENTON, TX (KNTU) The three major Republican candidates in the 2010 Texas governor's race faced off Thu., Jan. 14, at 7:00 p.m. on the University of North Texas - Denton campus.

Before an invited audience of about 850 in the Murchison Performing Arts Center, Gov. Rick Perry, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and  former Wharton County Republican Party chair Debra Medina talked about issues in their political battle.

Gov. Perry spoke about the greatness of the state of Texas and made claims of his administration's accomplishments in job growth and lowering taxes. "Texas was gaining almost 100,000 jobs just this last November and October. We created jobs in the state of Texas, November '07 to November '08," he said.

Sen. Hutchison quickly fired back. "We definitely lost more jobs in Texas than we gained. We lost 300,000 jobs in Texas alone this year. That is not a record to be proud of. Our unemployment rate is higher than every state in the surrounding area," she said.

Perry also claimed to have an administration that provided the lowest taxes in Texas in years, to which Hutchison cited The Dallas Morning News as reporting exactly the opposite. The governor chided the senator for choosing the Dallas newspaper as her source.

Hutchison was put on the defensive about her Senate votes on economic stimulus spending and her position on whether Roe v. Wade -- which legalized abortion in the U.S. -- should be overturned. She said she's pro-life and pro-adoption, but hinted that overturning the U.S. Supreme Court case on abortion would lead to some states becoming "abortion havens."

Medina kept out of the two established politicians' squabbling, staying focused on her message of less is more when it comes to the government. "Restore true private property ownership in Texas; eliminate property tax and use the sales tax to fund government service," she said.

Produced by a group of media entities, the gubernatorial debate was moderated by KERA News Director Shelley Kofler. CBS 11 News Anchor Doug Dunbar presented questions from the audience in the Murchison plus those sent via social media. KUVN's María Renée Barillas and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Dave Montgomery also posed questions to the candidates. The debate format allowed each candidate a one minute response to questions, a chance for rebuttal, and the opportunity to each ask one another a question.

After earlier having his opportunity to put a question to Sen. Hutchison, Gov. Perry accidentally asked Medina a question he meant for Hutchison -- "Are you going to resign from the United States Senate?"

Because it was not her turn to answer, the senator received a free pass from moderator Kofler.

While Medina said she would not be resigning from the Senate, Hutchison answered that she would be doing so -- but did not indicate when.