Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly, Republican Mike Braun and Libertarian Lucy Brenton used their final Senate debate Tuesday night to reiterate many of their talking points and win over any remaining undecided voters — just one week before Election Day.

The tight race between Braun and Donnelly is one of the most closely watched in the nation because it is among a handful of pivotal contests that could determine which party wins control of the Senate.

Here are eight takeaways from the relatively tame final debate:

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Candidates were asked to stick to the questions — and occasionally failed

The first question moderator PBS National Correspondent Amna Nawaz asked wasn't a policy question at all.

"Will you pledge to confine your answers to the questions asked?" Nawaz asked.

All three candidates agreed. But they went off topic on the very next question: whether they would vote to end birthright citizenship as President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday.

"I'm the only person on this stage who voted three times for a border wall," Donnelly began. "I voted against sanctuary cities..."

He eventually got around to answering the question, saying he needs to make sure "it's constitutional and review it first."

Nawaz had to ask Braun a second time to answer the question on birthright citizenship after he avoided it by saying "it's an accumulation of many years of neglecting border security" — an attack on Donnelly's record as a senator.

He later circled back around to an answer.

"I'm not going to say whether I support it or not until I read the legislation," Braun said.

Healthcare was king

Both Braun and Donnelly are trying to portray themselves as the candidate who will solve high healthcare costs. So much so in fact, that both candidates managed to about-face the debate back to healthcare even when answering unrelated questions.

For example, a question on the federal deficit turned into a debate over healthcare.

It makes sense that both candidates are playing the healthcare card. Polls indicate healthcare is one of Hoosiers' main policy concerns when determining their Senate vote.

Braun said he's the best option because he has real world experience bringing down healthcare premiums for his own company.

"The proof is in the pudding," Braun said. "I’ve done it in the real world."

But as Donnelly pointed out, Braun's healthcare plan has a $10,000 deductible for families and $5,000 for individuals.

Donnelly noted he was the "final vote" to save the Affordable Care Act, which protects coverage for pre-existing conditions. He said Braun supports a lawsuit that would take away pre-existing condition coverage

Kavanaugh loomed

In Washington, news cycles are quick. Some political scientists have argued that Donnelly's "no" vote for then Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh wouldn't matter much by the time election day comes around.

But almost a month after Kavanaugh's confirmation, Braun raised Donnelly's vote in Tuesday's Senate debate.

In Braun's introduction he said Donnelly was "wrong on healthcare, wrong on immigration, wrong on tax reform, a loud supporter of Hillary Clinton and voted against Judge Kavanaugh."

The Kavanaugh hearings were also the inspiration for a question from a student on how each of the candidates would fight to protect the rights of sexual assault survivors.

Tariffs were ignored

As a heavy manufacturing and soybean farming state, Indiana has felt the impacts of Trump's tariffs.

Just Saturday, Trump spent much of his speech at the FFA convention in Indianapolis, boasting about the potential positive impacts of his trade policies.

Surprisingly, the moderator didn't ask about the tariffs, and neither candidate brought it up.

However, she did ask about climate change, an issue neither candidate has campaigned on and that has not been raised in polls as a critical issue among Indiana voters.

Pete Seat, a GOP state party official, questioned on Twitter why candidates were asked about climate change at both Senate debates, saying the commission is "easily manipulated" by "interest groups spamming them with questions."

The Indiana Debate Commission defended the question, saying it considers each one that is submitted.

Trump ties were cherished

Braun praised President Trump, while Donnelly boasted about working on legislation the president had signed.

Donnelly, even though he's a Democrat, refrained from directly criticizing Trump, who won Indiana by 19 percentage points in 2016.

Donnelly noted his support of Trump's border wall as evidence of his bipartisanship, while Braun praised Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and his anti-immigration policies.

Brenton, however, had no qualms questioning Trump's tactics.

"Why are we still playing footsie with regimes that murder?" she asked when discussing Trump's response to the killing of a journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, Turkey.

Meanwhile, Braun saw Trump as the solution to dealing with foreign powers.

"I think the president has changed the dynamic, and we’re going to see a lot of these problems fixed," Braun said.

Donnelly said he supports a temporary halt of arm sales to Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the killing of Khashoggi, a graduate of Indiana State University.

No 'Mourdock moment,' but...

Six years ago, Senate candidate Richard Mourdock tanked his chances of winning the Senate seat by saying during a debate that rape sometimes was "something that God intended." The move in part helped Donnelly win the Senate seat in red-leaning Indiana..

Donnelly tried to paint Braun's views on abortion as even more extreme by bringing up the issue when asked about free access to contraception.

"I am pro-life. I have every single time voted to make sure federal funds couldn’t be used for abortion related services," Donnelly said. "But I also have exceptions in the case of rape and incest and the life of the mother. If your daughter happens to be raped, Mike thinks that the government has a role and a position in the middle of it."

Braun, who believes abortion shouldn't be allowed in any scenario, didn't directly address that accusation and attacked Donnelly.

"You cannot say you’re pro-life and have your voting record," Braun said to Donnelly.

However, Donnelly did have a gaffe of his own at Tuesday night's debate.

When asked about how the candidates would promote diversity, Donnelly responded: "Our state director is Indian American, but he does an amazing job. Our director of all constituent services, she’s African American, but she does an even more incredible job than you could ever imagine."

The "buts" drew a lot of derision on social media.

Braun skipped media scrum... again

Brenton and Donnelly both talked to media after the debate, while Braun stayed away.

Braun didn't hold a press gaggle after the first general election Senate debate or in the debates during the primaries either.

Talking to the media afterwards isn't a requirement, but most candidates do.

He and Donnelly, however, did both issue statements claiming they won the debate.

Brenton drew on her experience as a mother

If you didn't already know Brenton has 10 children, you do now. She brought it up a handful of times during the debate, using it to illustrate some of her policy stances.

For example, having 10 kids helped her learn more about the cost of healthcare and how to keep those costs down during labor, she said. She also referred to herself as a mother and businesswoman in her introduction.

Her most memorable reference was in regards to a question on affordable contraception.

“I have 10 children, so the idea of contraceptives is something I’m very much interested in," Brenton said, bringing laughter from the crowd. "Are there days that I want that to be retroactive when they haven’t done the dishes? Probably."

When talking to media afterwards, Brenton said being on stage was "a lot more fun than childbirth."

Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at 317-432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.