BOSTON -- The three Republicans running to unseat U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren this fall, faced off over immigration, health care, foreign policy and other hot-button issues Tuesday, as they debated for the 1st time ahead of Massachusetts' Sept. 4 primary.

State Rep. Geoff Diehl, the Massachusetts Republican Party's endorsed candidate; Beth Lindstrom, a longtime political operative; and John Kingston, a Winchester businessman, touted their backgrounds and stance on an array of issues during the hour-long live debate on Boston Herald Radio.

The opponents also used the debate to take aim at Warren's record, rhetoric and rumored 2020 presidential ambitions, as well as each other.

Here are 5 takeaways from the 1st GOP U.S. Senate debate:

(Mark Garfinkel/The Boston Herald via AP)

All three candidates raised concerns about migrant family separations, said they support cracking down on illegal immigration

Diehl, Lindstrom and Kingston each stressed that they support President Donald Trump's focus on cutting down the number of immigrants who enter the United States illegally, but questioned a policy, which resulted in migrant parents and children being separated at the southern border.

Diehl said he was glad the administration modified the policy to keep families together, adding that he believes the "the temptation for parents to bring children and use that as a way to get into the country is tragic."

He argued that "the most humane thing" Washington can do is to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Kingston, meanwhile, said he doesn't believe anyone was "comfortable" with the family separation policy. He called for pairing security objectives with humanitarian objectives.

Lindstrom, in turn, said she's not for family separations, but supports detaining families together.

She added that she believes Trump was trying to follow the law by enforcing the United States' immigration policies -- something she argued Warren is trying to undo by advocating for so-called "sanctuary cities."

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(Mark Garfinkel/The Boston Herald via AP)

Diehl said Warren is more of a threat than Russia

When asked to weigh in on the United States' relationship with Russia, Diehl said he believes the Warren poses more of a threat to the country than the Kremlin.

"Russia is not the old Soviet Union and so, to me, the bigger threat is someone like Elizabeth Warren -- Elizabeth Warren is a big problem. ... She seems to be the new communist regime here in the United States with the progressive movement to make government so big, whether it's taking over health care or free education," he said.

Diehl later cast his remark as "facetious" and acknowledged that Russia, is "a threat, obviously" before praising Trump's approach to foreign policy with regard to the Kremlin.

Kingston argued that while Warren is extreme, "we have to be careful about false equivalence of our domestic disagreements with some like Elizabeth Warren and actually acting as if they're worse than a foreign adversary."

"We've got to keep our eye on the ball and stand on our toes," he said. "Those Russians are tough and bad folks."

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(Mark Garfinkel/The Boston Herald via AP)

Lindstrom said Diehl would not be able to win general election

Accusing Diehl of "blind loyalty" to Trump, Lindstrom argued that her opponent's vocal support for the president would likely make him unable to win a general election matchup against Warren.

"You start talking to a larger swath of voters in the primary and those are independents, and those are people who look to see who would be the best person to be able to go up against Elizabeth Warren in November. She cannot wait to run against Donald Trump (in 2020) and so Geoff, with the blind loyalty to Donald Trump, that's what I'm saying: He cannot win against her," she said. "We have to put the best person to go against her in the fall."

Diehl rejected Lindstrom's suggestion that he has agreed with Trump on all issues.

"You've got a president that's delivering on the promises of economic prosperity, securing the border ... supporting law enforcement and the work that they're doing: those are areas where I agree with him," he said. "There are areas where I disagree with the president as well: When he did the tax reform and wanted to eliminate the state and local deductions for property taxes that was a mistake and luckily Congress acted on it."

He added that he can "certainly agree or disagree with the president and at the same time give Massachusetts a seat at the table" by offering the state a relationship with the White House his opponents cannot.

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(Mark Garfinkel/The Boston Herald via AP)

Kingston would not commit to voting for Trump's re-election

Although Lindstrom and Diehl said they'd support a second term for Trump, Kingston would not commit to voting for the president in 2020.

"Look, early innings still, we haven't even gotten to the mid-terms, (Trump) hasn't declared, so let's figure it out from there," he said.

Kingston, when pressed further, reiterated that he'd like to first focus on the 2018 elections.

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(Mark Garfinkel/The Boston Herald via AP)

All three candidates said they would not use Roe v. Wade as a litmus test for Supreme Court nominees

Diehl, Lindstrom and Kingston agreed that support for abortion rights under Roe v. Wade, or any other issues, should be used as a litmus test for confirming Supreme Court nominees.

Noting that Trump's nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, has not publicly weighed in on abortion, Kingston said he doesn't believe the issue should be used to politicize the court.

"It's not going to be a litmus test for me," he said. "We don't know where these people are going to come out on these subjects."

Diehl also said he "would not have a litmus test when it comes to the nominees being put in front of us."

Lindstrom agreed, criticizing Warren's immediate opposition to Kavanaugh's nomination.

"I don't think there should be a litmus test, but also, I think Elizabeth Warren is creating this hysteria over Roe v. Wade," she said. "I do not believe it will be overturned. I think this is the leftist play to be able to just not be able to have his nomination go through."

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