Republican Mark Baisley, a state senator from Woodland Park, defended the war, saying Iran’s history of deadly attacks on Americans and its support for terrorism demanded a forceful response. “It’s about time that a president stood up to them,” he said.

Asked about higher gas prices, Baisley said Americans would have to pay more, calling that an unfortunate consequence of standing up to what he described as bullies. He argued that keeping fuel cheap should not come at the expense of American lives. Baisley ruled out sending U.S. troops into Iran.

Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper called Trump’s war reckless and said the United States should pursue negotiations with Iran in an international setting to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons. Hickenlooper acknowledged that the Obama and Biden administrations had not pressed hard enough in earlier negotiations. He said limited strikes could be an option if Iran barred inspectors and evidence showed it was developing a nuclear weapon, but opposed trying to topple the government or destroy the country.

Hickenlooper has made opposition to the war a campaign focus. In August, he backed a war-powers resolution that would stop U.S. military action against Iran without congressional authorization, and he later featured the conflict in a campaign ad. The debate was the candidates’ first and only televised faceoff.

They also clashed over Trump’s move to ease sanctions on Russian diesel in an effort to lower fuel prices. Hickenlooper called the decision a betrayal and said it weakened pressure on Russia. Baisley said he was uneasy about relying on Russia but would trust Trump’s judgment.

The dispute puts the economic consequences of the conflict alongside questions of presidential war powers in a race where Colorado voters are weighing both the cost of fuel and the scope of U.S. military action.