The hourlong debate at the Fox59/CBS4 studios came ahead of the Nov. 3 election. The competitive four-way race also includes Republican Greg Ballard and Democrat Lauri Shillings, who did not qualify for the televised debate under the station’s polling threshold.

A question about whether Indiana should provide voter rolls to the president drew contrasting answers. Engling said the state should not hand over voter information, while allowing that it could work with federal partners on election verification. He said the secretary of state’s office is accountable to Hoosiers.

Bayh also cautioned against Washington officials accessing Hoosiers’ personal information without a demonstrated need. He accused incumbent Secretary of State Diego Morales of sharing information about millions of voters without a request. That was Bayh’s characterization during the debate.

The candidates also responded to the Justice Department’s announcement that it would send election monitors to Marion and Lake counties on Election Day. Engling called monitoring a routine process and said monitors would observe without interfering. Bayh questioned why those two counties—Indiana’s largest counties by population of nonwhite residents—were selected, and said using monitors to intimidate voters would be wrong. Engling said he could not speak for the department’s decision.

They disagreed over how to examine Morales’ use of taxpayer funds. Engling said he would ask the Indiana Office of Inspector General to investigate, arguing it has authority to compel records and question people. Bayh said the office had not acted despite the concerns being public, and proposed an independent review led by David Shelton, a Republican and Knox County clerk who is also a private investigator.

Engling criticized Shelton’s limited authority, saying he could not compel information. Bayh called his proposal a bipartisan effort and said Engling was unwilling to commit to an independent audit. Both candidates have criticized Morales’ stewardship of public resources.

Campaign finance and ethics also surfaced. Bayh challenged Engling to pledge not to award contracts to campaign donors. Engling said actions matter more than pledges and cited a controversy involving a fundraiser associated with Bayh’s campaign. Bayh asked which donors Engling would give contracts to; Engling denied that campaign contributions would determine contracting decisions.

The candidates traded accusations over a $60,000 contribution from Hoosier Leadership for America, a dark-money group affiliated with U.S. Sen. Jim Banks. Engling’s campaign returned the contribution, which was described during the debate as illegal. Engling had warned that dark-money groups could use citizen-led ballot questions to bypass lawmakers and confuse voters. Bayh responded that Engling was not in a position to criticize dark money.

The debate included disputes over campaign advertising, too. Bayh criticized an Engling ad invoking the appearance of Bayh’s father, former Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh, in records related to Jeffrey Epstein. Bayh said the ad unfairly targeted his family. Engling’s campaign has also criticized Bayh over a donation from billionaire Marc Rowan, whose name appears in Epstein-related records; the nature of any scheduled meetings referenced in those records has not been established.

Bayh defended his own ad describing Engling as having been convicted of reckless driving. Engling has said he plans to sue the Bayh campaign over the ad, which refers to speeding tickets. Engling said Bayh was the candidate with a reckless-driving record; Bayh’s 2018 Virginia charge was amended to an infraction.

Both candidates said they would serve a full four-year term if elected, amid speculation that either could seek higher office before the term ends. They also agreed that preventing illegal voting is important, though they differed on how best to address election security.