NEW BERN (AP) - All five Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate, meeting in a debate for the first time Friday, agreed to end the war in Iraq, but the front-runners disagreed on how quickly troops should be pulled from the country.

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State Sen. Kay Hagan said the war should not end immediately.

“I don't think we can pull out just on Day 1,” the Greensboro Democrat said in the forum hosted by Public Radio East and the North Carolina League of Women Voters. “I think we need to have a diplomatic surge. This needs a political solution.”

Hagan's chief rival, Chapel Hill corporate financial adviser Jim Neal, disagreed, saying he would even vote in Congress to withhold war funding in an effort to end the conflict.

“The time to talk about a diplomatic surge is way over,” Neal said. “It's time to get out of Iraq.”

The other candidates also differed on how to best end the conflict.

Lexington trucker Duskin Lassiter said he would travel to Iraq to meet with tribal leaders in the nation to negotiate an end to conflict. Lumberton attorney Marcus Williams said U.S. troops should be removed expeditiously. Moncure podiatrist Howard Staley said U.S. troops should provide stability until Iraq is strong enough should survive on its own.

“I don't think the Congress should directly get involved in telling the military how to operate in a war zone,” Staley said.

All five candidates are vying for the Senate seat held by Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole. She faces Pete Di Lauro in the GOP primary on May 6.

Neal, a political newcomer, galvanized the liberal wing of the Democratic party last year with a willingness to openly discuss his homosexuality, jumping into the race after Hagan initially declined a bid. And on Friday he continued to stake out positions to the left of Hagan, a political veteran who has won the support of party leaders such as Gov. Mike Easley. Neal said he supports publicly financed political campaigns while Hagan said that public financing should be reserved for judicial elections, adding that election contributions need to be transparent. On immigration, Hagan said she supports using a fence and other technologies to enforce the border, a stance echoed by Lassiter and Staley. But Neal said the fence sends a wrong message and instead argued that immigration policy should punish businesses who are violating the law by hiring illegal immigrants. Neal also emphasized that the nation needs to provide a pathway to citizenship for those here illegally.

The one-hour debate touched on a range of issues: Staley touted his expertise on questions about health care, having worked in the industry; Williams said his work has given him hands-on experience dealing with people who have lost their home to foreclosure; Lassiter, noting his trucking business, said he's best seen the affects of rising energy costs and proposed a $380 bill energy plan.

Neal, meanwhile, ended the debate with a call to Hagan to meet again.

“This is an important election, and there are fundamental differences between myself and Sen. Kay Hagan,” he said. “But if Sen. Hagan has her way, they will never be known.”

Hagan said in an interview that she is looking forward to more debates, including a televised forum in the works.