Littleton, Colorado - Lauren Boebert recently had her first – and only – debate as she runs a tight race for re-election, and her rival claims she had a "meltdown" on the stage.

On Tuesday, Boebert faced off with Democratic candidate Trisha Calvarese at a country club, where the two debated on business and economic issues.

Calvarese kicked things off by telling the story of how she was forced to return home to Colorado from a job in Washington, DC, to care for her terminally ill parents.

"I'm running to make care easier, costs more affordable, and to keep America competitive," Calvarese stated.

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Boebert focused her opening on discussing how "we are going to take our country back" and "get government out of the way."

She recalled how, at the age of 15, after receiving the first paycheck from her first job and seeing the amount of taxes taken out, she realized, "I can take care of myself better than the government ever has."

"I'm here to prove that to you today," Boebert added.

But things quickly grew tense as Calvarese made an aggressive effort to repeatedly challenge Boebert's voting record while in office.

"We have to have smart policies," Calvarese argued, "and simply... playing games, saying you voted for something while voting against it is not the way to do that."

Throughout the debate, Calvarese pointed out a number of bills Boebert voted against or missed "critical votes" relating to issues she claims to stand for.

In 2022, Boebert voted against the PACT Act, which sought to expand health care and benefits for veterans who were exposed to toxic substances while serving.

"I think if you're gonna be America first, you can't put veterans last," Calvarese argued, adding, "We definitely have different priorities because I believe you should take care of our veterans."

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Calvarese also attacked Boebert for voting against a measure related to lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

"You voted to keep the medication high and out of reach for millions of seniors that gave me four extra years of life with my father," she boldly declared.

Boebert aggressively defended her voting record, of which she said she is "very proud of," as she "will always advocate to get good language in any bill."

"However, if we have something at the end of the day that is not something I said I will ultimately support, I'm not going to vote for it."

Colorado's 4th District is considered by many pollsters to be safe for Republicans, but Calvarese believes that internal polls showing her "within striking distance" of Boebert and her impressive fundraising hauls demonstrate that she has a clear path to victory.

Calvarese appeared confident in her performance, as she said in a social media post that her rival "melted down" on the stage as she was being "held accountable for her extremism."

She also told Westword that she would like to have another debate before the November election, as this one was private and not televised, but Boebert has refused, insisting the one is enough.

"My opponent had her debate today. Apparently, she's feeling that she didn't do very well if she's already looking for the second," Boebert argued, adding, "I debate Democrats on a daily basis – it's my job."