BANGOR – After weeks of dueling in the press, 2nd Congressional District rivals Mike Michaud and Kevin Raye stepped up their already pointed criticisms of each other in the race’s first televised debate Saturday.

The first face-to-face meeting since a comparatively tepid Chamber of Commerce forum last month, the live Maine Public Broadcasting debate at University College in Bangor featured Michaud, the Democrat, and Raye, the Republican, battling over a host of issues including Social Security, abortion and trade.

In the tight race, each looked to convince undecided voters that his experience – Michaud, a veteran state lawmaker, and Raye, a longtime aide to U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe – would best serve the rural district.

“It’s one thing to be a staffer sitting back and taking people’s calls about their Social Security,” said Michaud, the Senate president pro tempore. “It’s another thing to be in the room and make these tough decisions.”

“Staff people are valued in Washington,” countered Raye, who served as Snowe’s chief of staff for the past six years. “You’ll learn that if you do get to Congress, Mike.”

The hour-long debate, co-sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Center, will be rebroadcast at 1 p.m. today on Maine Public Radio.

Raye and Michaud are looking to replace U.S. Rep. John Baldacci, who is running for governor.

Some of the more spirited exchanges Saturday evening came when Raye pressed Michaud to explain a 1999 vote to tax high-income Social Security recipients as well as a 1998 questionnaire in which he said he would support legislation that would “prevent abortion except to prevent the death of the mother.”

“That’s not even an exception for rape and incest,” said Raye, who opposes late-term abortions but would include the mother’s health, as well as rape and incest, as an exception. “That’s an extreme position.”

Michaud faulted Raye for going “way back in history,” referring to the questionnaire, prompting Raye to reply, “Four years?”

Michaud explained that while he generally opposed abortion, he would not support a constitutional amendment to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

“I was raised in a family that taught me to respect life and, more importantly, law,” said Michaud, who stressed his longtime support for family planning initiatives.

Raye, of Perry, accused Michaud of undergoing an “election year conversion” on the issue after the East Millinocket Democrat said he also would include rape, incest and the mother’s health as exceptions to his opposition to late-term abortions.

Michaud was equally persistent in his criticism of Raye for supporting the president’s so-called “fast track” trade promotion authority, which Michaud contended has hurt Maine workers.

“It’s killing the economy of the state of Maine,” said Michaud, invoking his 28 years as a millworker in the state’s struggling forest products industry.

Raye disputed that “fast track” authority – which prevents Congress from amending trade agreements – was to blame for the loss of manufacturing jobs in Maine.

He instead cited faulty trade policies and noted that several respected Maine lawmakers – including former U.S. Sens. William Cohen and George Mitchell, supported the “fast track” legislation.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t suggest that any of these individuals cares less about Maine jobs than you do,” Raye said.

On the issue of Social Security, Raye repeatedly asked Michaud to acknowledge his 1999 vote to tax high-income Social Security beneficiaries.

“Maine has never taxed Social Security,” Michaud answered, contending Raye would vote for party leadership that would support privatizing part of the fund.

“I’m not saying [Maine taxes] Social Security,” Raye said, noting that Gov. Angus King vetoed the legislation. “I’m saying, ‘Did you vote for it?'”

If elected, Michaud said, his first piece of legislation would be a federal version of Maine’s court-challenged Rx law, which allows the state to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices.

Raye said he would work in the Transportation Committee to ensure Maine received more highway funding with the committee scheduled to update its transportation objectives next session.

Pundits praised both candidates for their preparedness and command of the issues, with University of Maine political science professor Amy Fried giving Michaud high marks for offering more specific proposals.

But most said this first debate likely did little to sway some of the estimated 20 percent of undecided voters in the closely watched House contest, seen as one of about a dozen tossups left in the country.

“I can see why this is a close race,” said Bowdoin College political science professor Christian Potholm, who gave Raye a slight edge in reaching out to independent voters.

“Both made cases that they would be credible congressional people from day one,” he said.