(Columbia-AP) Oct. 26, 2004 - US Senate candidates Jim DeMint and Inez Tenenbaum went head-to-head for a final time on Monday night, talking taxes, trade, race and federal judgeships.

DeMint continued to try to align Tenenbaum with national Democratic Party leaders presidential candidate John Kerry and Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts while he tied himself to President Bush.

Tenenbaum continued to assert her independence. Tenenbaum said she opposes foreign trade agreements that have led to job losses and DeMint supports free and fair trade.

DeMint says it's important he and Bush get elected, because Bush may get a chance to nominate up to four Supreme Court justices in the next four years. His comments came on the heels of news that Chief Justice William Rehnquist has thyroid cancer. DeMint said Democrats are holding up the appointment of federal judges, but Tenenbaum said she wouldn't block those appointments.

Both candidates have sharpened their messages and rarely strayed from answers they've already given. But, not everything in the past six debates has been scripted. DeMint again apologized for saying gays and lesbians should not be allowed to teach in public schools in the first debate. DeMint says he apologizes because after six debates people are still talking about that issue.

The six debates have provided interesting and sometimes controversial moments, but they ended on a light note when the candidates were asked what the best thing about one another was. DeMint said Tenenbaum says the same thing over and over again. Tenenbaum says DeMint's greatest assets are his wife and four children.

The heated race has narrowed just one week before Election Day. A new independent poll by the Mason-Dixon Polling and Research poll for The Post and Courier of Charleston shows DeMint's commanding has evaporated during the past month.

The poll found the Republican US House member at 47 percent and Democrat Inez Tenenbaum at 43 percent. That's within the four percentage point margin of sampling error for the telephone poll of 625 likely voters statewide. The voters were interviewed Tuesday and Wednesday.

The paper reported on October 3rd that a Mason-Dixon poll had DeMint at 50 percent and the two-term education superintendent at 38 percent.

Later this week WIS News 10's Heather Brown give you an up close view of the candidates on WIS News 10 Nightcast. See them with their families and away from the campaign trail. Wednesday night meet Inez Tenenbaum, and on Thursday meet Jim DeMint.

updated 8:17am by Eva Pilgrim