<p>Republicans kept it civil while Democrats threw the heavy punches in the final debate before Tuesday's U.S. Senate primary.</p><p>In a freewheeling matchup carried on the state's public broadcasting network, Democrat Cliff Oxford, a millionaire businessman, was again confronted with charges he was abusive to two ex-wives.</p><p>Rival Sid Cottingham, a South Georgia attorney, even threw in the never-before heard allegation that Oxford considered hiring a hit man to kill an ex-wife. Oxford brushed it off, saying he could just as easily accuse Cottingham of robbing banks.</p><p>But while the Democrats were looking for something to lift themselves out of the obscurity of an eight-person race, Republicans, with just three candidates who agree on most things, looked to land only the occasional jab.</p><p>They disagreed on who was the more conservative and exchanged a few jibes about half-truths but otherwise kept the discourse civil.</p><p>In that race, Rep. Johnny Isakson is considered the front-runner while Rep. Mac Collins and black entrepreneur Herman Cain are looking to force him into a runoff. It is considered the race to watch because most political observers give Republicans the edge for the seat of retiring Sen. Zell Miller.</p><p>Democrats never found a candidate with star quality and were left, instead, with a field mainly of unknowns.</p><p>The surprise attack of the Democrat debate came from Cottingham, who in previous encounters has repeatedly grilled Oxford about allegations he mistreated his second ex-wife and left a threatening call on the telephone of his first.</p><p>Oxford at first tried to brush off the attack, calling it a personal matter that arose during the heat of a legal battle that has now been resolved and that his family is happy.</p><p>But an agitated Cottingham insisted Oxford considered hiring a hit man and repeatedly said, "Mr. Oxford's a fraud." He also called Oxford "O.J." and said, "You beat, slapped, spit upon and backed your wife into a corner."</p><p>Oxford called Cottingham a Republican masquerading as a Democrat and said, "It's easy to sit up here and say anything. I could say Mr. Cottingham robbed 100 banks."</p><p>Seeking to take the offensive, Oxford scolded Rep. Denise Majette for taking a privately funded trip to India, which Oxford said is draining jobs from America.</p><p>"If you want to continue to operate in ignorance and arrogance, that's fine," she replied, saying India is a valuable ally in a war against terror.</p><p>Another candidate, businessman Sid Baier, lashed out at The Atlanta-Journal Constitution for not interviewing all candidates before endorsing Majette in the race.</p><p>Other Democrats in the race are south Georgia attorney James Finkelstein, Gwinnett businessman Govind Patel, state Sen. Mary Squires and Jim Boyd of Gwinnett County. Boyd did not participate in the debate.</p><p>In the Republican debate, Cain and Collins each asserted they are more conservative than Isakson. For his part, Isakson called himself a conservative "who's delivered."</p><p>The sharpest hits among Republicans came over abortion, one of the few issues in which there is disagreement among the three candidates. Isakson would allow abortions for three reasons _ rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. Cain and Collins would allow the procedure only to save the mother's life.</p><p>Cain accused Isakson of confusing voters and asked, "Can the voters of Georgia trust you with so many half truths?"</p><p>Isakson replied that he had been having to reply to half-truth charges from his rivals for two months.</p><p>In Sunday night's debate and in one televised earlier on Sunday, all three said they would have voted to change the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage, a matter that failed in the Senate last week.</p><p>___</p><p>Dick Pettys has covered Georgia government and politics since 1970</p>
