Jim DeMint and Inez Tenenbaum made a series of charges in Monday’s debate. Here is an analysis:

Tenenbaum said: Prominent Republicans, including President Bush, do not support a national sales tax as Jim DeMint does.

Analysis: Bush said on CNN’s “Larry King Live” that while he thought it was an interesting idea, it would raise taxes on the middle class, and he wouldn’t support it.

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DeMint said: The state’s Legislative Audit Council found the state Department of Education wasn’t spending its money wisely.

Analysis: A 2004 report identified ways in which the department could spend more efficiently, singling out travel, lodging and meals. The report found that salaries for administrators were not excessive.

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Tenenbaum said: The Ten Commandments can hang in public schools if part of literature or character education lessons.

Analysis: Department of Education spokesman Jim Foster said: “Districts will have to interpret that for themselves. ... We don’t give legal advice to districts.” The U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases, likely this winter, regarding the posting of the Ten Commandments in public places. In 1980, it struck down a Kentucky law that required schools to post them in the classroom.

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DeMint said: At $4 million, the national Democratic Party is spending more money on Tenenbaum’s Senate campaign than any in South Carolina history.

Analysis: Both campaigns are out to set spending records, with the national parties pouring money into the race. The national Republican Party has spent about half as much as the Democrats. The race has cost more than $12 million so far, surpassing the 2002 Lindsey Graham-Alex Sanders race by more than $3 million.

— Jeff Stensland