it depends on what the definition of prop is OR if you can't define "prop", then you shouldn't be elected to Congress

In the Bloomington debate...

Democratic incumbent Baron Hill
Republican challenger Todd Young
Libertarian challenger Greg Knott
(all of them have nine letters in their names; hmmm...)

Hill and then Young insisted on using props, despite the rules.

Here's coverage of the debate from HuffPo and coverage of the props shenanigans in the Bloomington Herald-Times (hat tip: Seymour TribTown):

The most memorable exchange of Monday night’s 9th District congressional campaign — a face-off between Democratic incumbent Rep. Baron Hill and Republican challenger Todd Young — was, maybe, a violation of the event’s ground-rules.

It all depends on what the definition of a “prop” is.

Debate ground-rules definitely prohibited props, according to a pre-debate agreement signed by all candidates and provided Tuesday to media members by Libertarian candidate Greg Knott...

At various points during the debate, both Hill and Young held up pieces of paper...

Immediately after the exchange, Knott said he would have brought props of his own, had he known the debate rules weren’t going to be followed.

Later in the debate, Young held up his own piece of paper: a list, he said, of scientists who were climate-change skeptics.

After the debate, Hill’s campaign denied that the event’s ground-rules prohibited props.

Young’s campaign said pieces of paper weren’t necessarily props.

A copy of the rules provided by Knott read: “Candidates may bring limited notes to the podium for the debate. Excessive amounts of notes may be limited at the discretion of the moderator. Campaign buttons are not allowed, nor are posters or other props.”

In any case, Knott said, the fact that both his opponents waved pieces of paper should tell voters something.

“Hill and Young both violated the debate agreement they signed in advance,” Knott said in a statement. “If they don’t have enough integrity to keep debate agreements, how can voters trust the more important campaign promises they are making?”

Three funny things:

They, especially Baron (by starting it), might like to make rules, but don't like to follow them. (See also: PAYGO rules!)

It appears that they're more interested in pieces of paper than policy.

We don't know about Todd since he has not been in Congress, but Baron is clearly more interested in posing (with or without props) than policy stances.