Attorney General Debate Follows Campaign Pattern

The first debate between the candidates for Kentucky attorney general repeated many themes of the campaign.Democratic incumbent Jack Conway and Republican challenger Todd P'Pool squared off on KET last night.Conway continued touting his accomplishments as the state's chief prosecutor fighting cyber crime, child pornography and prescription drug abuse. P'Pool, meanwhile, continued his efforts to nationalize the race and said Conway should join other state attorneys general in a lawsuit against President Obama’s healthcare overhaul law."It’s time we had a practicing prosecutor that would stand with the rank and file law enforcement and prosecutors around Kentucky and get to work and be an independent attorney general not one that’s interested in partisan politics," says P'Pool."I’m not gonna take some of the valuable resources of the office of the attorney general and put them on a lawsuit on health care when it’s an issue that’s gonna get decided anyway," says Conway.Observers say the attorney general's race could be the GOP's best chance for a victory in November. The most recent polls show Conway with a double-digit lead, but P'Pool says internal polls show the race is closer than that.Additional reporting by Ron Smith, Kentucky Public Radio