VIDEO: Students Debate for Candidates in Hotly Contested Races

High school juniors and seniors over at Covenant Christian Academy squared off in an election debate Wednesday afternoon in the school chapel.

The juniors represented the Democratic party while the seniors took up the mantle of the Republicans, arguing for candidates in three hotly contested races -- the congressional race between John Tierney and Richard Tisei, the Senate race between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren and, of course, the presidential race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

Nerves, at times, were apparent among the young debaters, but several of them took the podium with full confidence in their candidate and the issues. And they all demonstrated solid knowledge of the hot-button issues and arguments raised along the campaign trail in recent weeks and months.

CCA history teacher Warren Wegrzyn, who organized the debate, said the students spent three weeks preparing for the debate. The juniors were from an U.S. history class while the seniors were in a 20th Century studies class.

In addition to official scoring for the debate, an exit poll was distributed to the audience members to see which side they felt won the debate on Wednesday. Those results were not available yet.