If their debate performances last Thursday night in Manassas were any indication, then Rep. Gerry Connolly (D) and businessman Keith Fimian (R) could not present much more of a contrast in both style and substance.

Fimian charged that Connolly is a career politician that will say anything to stay elected and could not be trusted to be on the side of his constituents. Connolly countered that to use the "career politician" label as a bad things would require dismissing his predecessor, Rep. Tom Davis (R).

The two candidates vying for the 11th congressional district agreed on little at the debate moderated by Bruce DuPuyt of News Channel 8. Even though many of the questions focused on national issues, the back-and-forth produced some moments unique to Northern Virginia.

Connolly tried to convince the audience that he, not Fimian, had the most in common with Davis despite their different party identification. Davis served 14 years in Congress after his stint as chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. During that time, the GOP moderate went "undefeated and unindicted," as Davis himself mentioned during the debate, causing laughter from those gathered in the packed dining hall.

During a discussion on earmarks, Connolly said, "I have the same policy" as Davis in that he favored them. Fimian countered that "not all earmarks are bad" but that Connolly asks for too much. Connolly later mentioned that several newspapers wrote that he was "like-minded" to Davis.

Fimian recommended at one point that if Washington, D.C. residents wanted a vote in Congress that actually affected the outcome of legislation, they "have the ability to move." He also held up a copy of a book with Connolly's name on it from the 1970s as he recited a couple lines questioning whether people will be able to remain able to go to public spaces.

Connolly denied he authored the book but instead just edited it. Fimian, however, repeatedly told the audience that Connolly is "morphing" into something he is not on the campaign trail.

At one point during the event, DuPuyt turned the questioning over to Davis and Occoquan Mayor Earnie Porta. Porta served as a substitute for former 11th district Rep. Leslie Byrne (D) and received a gentle ribbing from Deputy as he referred to Porta as "congresswoman."

Davis asked the candidates to name areas that they disagreed with their party. He used a variation of the same question in 2006 to stump his then-opponent Andrew Hurst (D) during a debate in Woodbridge four years ago.

The responses from Fimian and Connolly played directly toward the demographics of the 11th district. Fimian focused what he described as congressional Republicans' negative attitude toward federal workers. The 11th district has one of the heaviest, if not the heaviest, concentrations of federal workers in the country.

"I think we need to engage the federal worker," said Fimian. "They don't like that the fact that we're spending all this money."

Connolly ticked off a line legislation he used to buck party leadership, most of which dealt with taxes though Fimian charged that he voted with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D) 97 percent of the time. For example, Connolly cited his support for extending the Bush tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 a year. The 11th district is considered the wealthiest in terms of median household income in the country and thus has a heavy percentage of residents making more than a quarter-million dollars annually.

"I opposed it, we killed it," said Connolly when discussing income surcharges proposed by the Obama admin.

Porta, saying that his question came directly from Byrne, asked whether the candidates supported the outcome of the recent Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission case before the Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision earlier this year, the high court struck down a law that barred corporations from directly spending on political campaigns.

"It's the law of the land.... I'll respect it and I'll observe it," said Fimian, who made sure to tell the crowd that he was not a lawyer.

"I'm a CPA," said Fimian.

He then shifted gears during the rest of his available two-minute response to cite criticisms launched at Connolly by Byrne during the 2008 Democratic primary, including broadsides about how he won projects for those that donated to his campaign.

Connolly reminded the audience that he still defeated Byrne and joked about knowing Byrne like former Sen. Lloyd Benson (D-TX) said he knew former president John F. Kennedy during the 1988 vice presidential debate. He called the Citizens United case "wretched" and "cynical."

"I condemn the decision," he said.

The Democrat also employed a tactic used by Vice President Joe Biden during the 2008 presidential debate when he gave a one-word reply -- "Yes" -- when asked whether he had the discipline needed to present himself on the national stage. When Connolly was asked whether he thought employers should have to fill out a stream of forms when dealing with health care, Connolly replied, "No," exchanged looks with the moderator and sat down.

Fimian agreed though he stressed he needed to study the issue.