Monday night, the two major candidates for Texas Lieutenant Governor debated in Austin.  State Senators Dan Patrick (R- Houston) and Leticia Van de Putte (D- San Antonio) traded barbs in the hour-long debate which aired on News/Talk 790, KFYO and other media outlets across the state.

Concerning border security, Patrick called for securing the Texas-Mexico border above all else and when Van de Putte suggested that such rhetoric was offense to people living in South Texas, he said those same residents had to be protected from terrorists, drug smugglers and gang members slipping into U.S. territory.

At one point in the debate, Patrick went on the aggressive calling Van de Putte "a liberal" who would "turn Texas into California." He said that meant high taxes and unchecked government spending that would hurt job creation. Van de Putte responded that spending on public education and health care would be a good thing in Texas, where a Democrat hasn't won statewide office in 20 years.

Texans will be voting for a number of statewide offices in the November election, including Governor, Lt. Governor, Ag Commissioner, Comptroller and Land Commissioner.

You can watch the complete debate, right here, courtesy of the Texas Tribune.

Information from the Associated Press used in this report

More From News/Talk 95.1 & 790 KFYO