We’re now half-way through the schedule of eight debates in the Colorado governor’s race – enough to draw some conclusions.

Democrat Jared Polis and Republican Walker Stapleton, have debated four times as of Tuesday: Twice in Denver on Friday, in Grand Junction on Saturday and in Pueblo on Monday.

They will debate for the fifth time Saturday night in Colorado Springs in an event sponsored by Colorado Politics, The Gazette, KOAA TV station and the El Pomar Foundation for Civic Engagement.

> CLICK HERE for the full debate schedule.

Here are our hot takes so far:

1. Who’s killing Medicaid?Both candidates say the other has it in for the public health care program that serves a quarter of the state’s residents.

On the campaign trail, Stapleton said the state’s Obamacare exchange isn’t sustainable, but now says he plans to make it better. He said his opponent will spread the program so thin that it amounts to cruelty.

Polis is promising universal health care. He backs Medicare for all that will expand coverage, not reduce it, he asserts. But the price tag and how Polis plans to pay for it remain elusive.

2. Heating and coolingWhen it comes to energy, both candidates talk a lot but say very little.

Stapleton is content to let the fossil fuel industry live a rich, natural life while renewables mature as a replacement. Conservation Colorado is spending big bucks to say such a laissez-faire approach only feeds climate change.

Polis talks a lot about renewable energy – in fact, he kicked off his campaign last year talking about his commitment to moving the state to 100 percent renewable energy by 2040 – but in debates, he’s stressed that’s a goal that won’t be achieved by mandates.

Polis says cutting regulations and encouraging private investment and innovation will get the state there, but Stapleton scoffs that it’s the state’s utility customers and beneficiaries of the oil and gas industry who will be left footing the bill.

The first four debates:

3. Magic dollarsFree all-day kindergarten and preschool? Polis hasn’t spelled out a budget, instead suggesting public-private partnerships and something called “impact bonds” can cover most of the cost.

He’s also emphasized that preschool might only be free for those who can’t afford it now.

Stapleton plans to dedicate revenue from sports betting to transportation, but in Nevada, that only adds up to about $15 million a year. The Polis camp notes it would take 600 years to come up with the $9 billion in immediate transportation needs.

How would Polis raise the billions? Build coalitions. Either somebody pays or something in the state budget gets cut. We’re waiting for both candidates to say who or what.

4. Flips, flops and contextWhile Polis doesn’t sound as fiery about renewables as he appeared in the primary, Stapleton has softened his primary tone on immigration and sanctuary cities.

Once sounding the alarm like his key endorser, Tom Tancredo, Stapleton now says the state won’t do the bidding of federal immigration officers and specifies he only considers a jurisdiction a “sanctuary” if it’s keeping undocumented felons from the feds.

Stapleton also has said he would repeal the gun laws Democrats passed in 2013. But in the debates he’s shaded his pronouncement, though he said in Pueblo he still doesn’t support the laws.

Polis has debated from the posture that he’s a bipartisan coalition builder – “the convener-in-chief” – but the nonpartisan GovTrack.US rates him the most liberal member of Colorado’s congressional delegation, based on his votes.

He also sits on the bipartisan House Problem-Solver Caucus, which counts an equal number of Republicans and Democrats and regularly puts forth moderate proposals that languish.

Back home, Polis opposes Proposition 112, which would establish a 2,500-foot setback for oil and gas operations, but in 2014 he bankrolled a proposed-then-withdrawn ballot question on a 2,000-foot setback before scuttling it.

5. Sharp jabs

It’s no secret these guys don’t like each other. Neither candidate has held his animosity toward his opponent in check, sometimes outright calling the other a liar.

Stapleton asked Polis if he was going to encourage his kids to smoke pot to help pay for schools – drawing jeers and grumbles from an audience that appeared otherwise stunned into silence – and he called Polis “the all-star captain of debt.”

Polis has maintained a more even temper in the debates, but his disdain is apparent everytime he diminishes Stapleton as “attacking proposals that aren’t mine.” “Sure, Jared, not you,” Stapleton grumbled back in Grand Junction.

6. Reading the polls

Stapleton appears to be taking the advice offered last week by veteran Republican consultant Dick Wadhams, who acknowledged Polis is ahead in the polls – a recent survey found the Democrat up by 7 points; another, released Wednesday, showed Polis out in front by 11 points – but suggested the gap isn’t insurmountable if Stapleton stays on the attack.

Every time Stapleton calls Polis and his proposals “radical” or “extreme” – often in the same breath – while a more relaxed-looking Polis shakes his head and frowns, it’s clear which candidate is the underdog and which is confident he’s in the lead. Polis accused Stapleton of debating with “subject-verb-Polis.”