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Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - It was a verbal showdown on the University of Hartford campus, Monday night, which hosted a debate between Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate.

It was a debate absent a senior senator but it’s the position Chris Dodd leaves behind that they are after.

Once 7 p.m. hit, it was time to get down to business. The first thing discussed at these podiums? What else, of course, but the economy. Specifically, more regulation of Wall Street.

“I have fought year after for the people of Connecticut against those kind of powerful wealthy special-interest and corporate giants; I have achieved results,” said Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

“If what we are going to do is seriously regulate the banking industry, then we need to do that and not dance around the margin,” said Merrick Alpert [D] for U.S. Senate. “In 1999, we made a fatal mistake in this nation; we deregulated it.”

Talk of economy must also be about job creation and Alpert’s first challenge to the Attorney General was just that.

“Twenty years later, we’ve had less jobs since he’s been in office. I would ask one basic question of the Attorney General: how many jobs have your lawsuits created?” Alpert said.

“Our lawsuits, our legal actions, actually create jobs because businesses actually welcome it,” Attorney General Blumenthal said.

An issue being discussed nationwide and an issue discussed Monday night was health care.

“I’m of the belief that the answer is a medicare offering for all,” said Alpert.

“Contain the costs of health care which we can do by eliminating paper work, computerizing medical records, fundamentally overhauling our health care system to make it more accessible and affordable, pooling purchasing power as the bill proposed by the President would accomplish, ” Attorney General Blumenthal said.

Another big talking point tonight was if it is time to rethink the war on terror?

“I support the President’s current strategy of Afghanistan of increasing United States allied NATO troops over an 18 month period and then a draw-down,” Attorney General Blumenthal said.

“We need to get out of Afghanistan now. We need to get our uniform troops out of Afghanistan,” said Alpert. “If it was part of the war on terror my view on it would be different. But it is not.”

Then, it was the the closing statement.

“Year after year, [there has been] a proven record of results,” Attorney General Blumenthal said.

“I am running for the U.S Senate because I want a progressive Democrat to win this seat and I don’t want Linda McMahon [from World Wrestling] to buy it,” Alpert said.

McMahon will take the podium tomorrow on the University of Hartford campus.