Republican Congressman Dave Reichert and Democratic challenger Darcy Burner met for their first and only face off last night. The Seattle PI called the debate "mean-spirited and bare-knuckled" as the two went after each other and Reichert tried to maintain his composure before combative Burner supporters in the crowd:

Burner never had Reichert, the former King County sheriff, on his heels, but he did get visibly angry as she and the crowd vented their frustration about issues ranging from the Iraq war to health care.

He countered with measured responses to her campaign's criticisms and consistently tried to redirect the debate away from the broader direction of the Bush administration and back to his own accomplishments and policy decisions.

"This is the United States of America, and at some point, Ms. Burner, you are going to have to come out from behind the bushes and recognize I am your opponent," Reichert said. [snip]

"I understand independence. I understand taking a stand. I understand firing people. I understand hiring people. I understand promoting people. I understand discipline. I understand terrorism. I understand the law. I understand your rights," Reichert said in an increasingly strident voice. [snip]

The audience jeered when Reichert said he "worked 19 years to catch a serial killer," a reference to his work apprehending Green River Killer Gary Ridgway, but he held his ground.

"It's not comic to the victims and their families," he said.

The Seattle Times report adds:

The candidates were allowed to ask each other a question. Reichert asked what Burner has done for her community, and she said she worked for good values at Microsoft, volunteered as a youth sports coach and on a community board near her home in the Carnation area.

Burner asked Reichert to defend his wavering and "unprincipled" stances on stem-cell research, global warming and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Reichert explained some of his votes and said it would be easy for voters to support him based on his long record.

Meanwhile, the 8th district is "awash in ads." Liberal blogs
are slamming Reichert for a mistake in his latest ad which, according to David Postman at the Seattle Times the Reichert campaign has said they will correct.

This race is going to be tight, and bitterly fought, until the very end.