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PROVO — Sen. Orrin Hatch and challenger Scott Howell tussled in a debate Wednesday over partisanship in Washington and whose drum they would march to in the U.S. Senate.
"Let's get the elephant out of the room. I'm a conservative Democrat," Howell said.
It's unfair to paint the Democratic Party with a broad brush, he said.
Hatch gave credit to Howell for being a conservative but said he'd have to play ball with his party if elected.
"Once a Democrat gets back there he goes right along with the Democrats," Hatch said. "Lets face it. That's the liberal party."
Once a Democrat gets back there he goes right along with the Democrats. Lets face it. That's the liberal party.
–Sen. Orrin Hatch
Hatch and Howell met in their only televised debate Wednesday at Brigham Young University. It will be broadcast at 9 p.m. Wednesday on several public television stations including KBYU and KUED.
The two candidates disagreed on how to deal with the Affordable Care Act commonly called Obamacare.
Howell called the bill a "stake in the ground" that he doesn't want to kill but rather improve and amend.
Hatch called it an "atrocious" act that needs to be repealed and replaced. Obamacare, he said, will "lead us down to destruction and eat us alive."
