GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) - The candidates for Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District took to the debate stage for the first time on Friday night. The debate took place at the Mauthe Center and featured Republican candidate Tony Wied and Democratic candidate Kristin Lyerly. Both candidates are vying for the seat previously held by Mike Gallagher before he resigned in the spring. "I think what you're going to see tonight is a pretty distinct contrast between someone that has a life of public service and someone who recently discovered public service when this congressional seat opened up," said Lyerly. West De Pere High School students organize fundraiser for elementary teacher battling breast cancer "The big difference between me and my opponent is she attacks people and I attack problems and I have a history of attacking problems in my life," said Wied. The candidates answered questions on a variety of topics including the state of the economy and how to bring down housing prices. "We need to focus on the middle class and get them programs that not only get them into houses but also so they can attain an education and have a family," Lyerly said. "Prices continue to rise and it's from the reckless spending we see in Washington and we can't have that," said Wied. Wied is the former owner of several Dino Stop gas stations in the Green Bay area. In his answers to the questions on the economy, he noted that prices remain higher on things like gasoline and groceries than they were when Donald Trump was president, asking people in the audience if they're better off now than they were four years ago. He also praised tax cuts that the Trump administration instituted in 2017. Former president Trump has endorsed Wied. "(Those) tax cuts stimulated the economy," said Wied. "(I want to) extend them to keep more money in everybody's pockets." Lyerly is an OB/GYN and has made abortion rights central to her campaign. She told Local 5 News though that she felt like she erased the narrative that she's a one-issue candidate with her responses to a variety of topics at the debate on Friday night. Perhaps the tensest moment of the debate came when Lyerly criticized Wied for saying he thinks individual states should determine the issue of abortion rather than the federal government saying this decision is a "cop out." "If you're so passionate about it why don't you run for state assembly like you have before," said Wied. "The issue is within the state's hands." "We know without a doubt that people across the country and in northeast Wisconsin believe that we all should have the freedom to make our own choices about our own bodies," said Lyerly. "That is undeniable." The candidates had different thoughts on what should be done to rectify the situation at the southern border. Lyerly said that she does think there's a crisis at the border, but criticized Republicans for killing a bipartisan border bill this year that she says would have addressed some of the issues. Wied said they need the close the border and that the border bill didn't do enough to address the issues with the country's immigration system. He said he supported the Trump era 'Remain in Mexico' policy which requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico until their immigration court date. Both candidates agreed that there needs to be more resources and funding for mental health resources particularly for veterans. Wied saying during one of his answers that if elected he'd want to go into local schools and be an advocate for anti-bullying. Both candidates agreed that healthcare in this country needs to be more affordable, but had differing views on how to bring prices down. Lyerly said the Affordable Care Act was "a wonderful step in the right direction." Wied said it's a lack of competition in the healthcare industry that drives up prices. He also said we need to figure out how to make people in this country healthier in general by encouraging exercise and healthier eating. Both candidates said they would save social security for seniors, but had different ideas on how to get that done. Lyerly said the wealthy in this country needs to contribute to paying for it, while Wied said if the government cut spending on other things they'd have more money for social security. The Social Security Administration projects that by 2035 the program will run out of funding to continue to provide full social security benefits to all those who qualify. Wisconsin Supreme Court says Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name will remain on swing state’s ballot Despite their policy issues, both candidates reflected on the importance of having a civil and substantive debate that showed two contrasting viewpoints. Both promised that they'd work across the aisle if elected. "I'm somebody who listens to people just like I do in the office," said Lyerly. We talk about options, and then we figure out what's the best solution for you. It's the same strategy in a community, we share values, we have a common culture, and we're all different. And that's the beauty of a community like this, because we bring our different opinions together, and we create magic with it.” "And I did that when I was leading in our business, we worked with folks of all different races and economic background," said Wied. "And we have to show more love to each other." After the debate, Local 5 News asked both candidates if they feel like they won the debate. "I do (think that I won) and I think the crowd out there is proving it," said Lyerly. "It feels good and every single topic I answered appropriately." "Tonight, I think I did very well, I articulated the policies that were important to me and district eight," said Wied.