Virginia gubernatorial candidates Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds took the gloves off in a heated debate Saturday — their first one-on-one face-off of the general election campaign.

McDonnell, a Republican and Virginia’s former Attorney General, and Deeds, a Democratic State Senator from Bath County, sparred over topics including transportation, education, and energy in the debate hosted by the Virginia Bar Association at the Homestead Hotel in Hot Springs.