Conway
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Legal Newsline) - Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway will battle county attorney Todd P'Pool to keep his position as the state's top lawyer this fall.
Both Conway and P'Pool, a Hopkins County attorney, ran unopposed in their primaries on Tuesday, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. Conway is a Democrat and P'Pool is a Republican.
The Herald-Leader said the attorney general's race will be one of the most-watched this fall, with the GOP looking to take over the position for the first time in years.
P'Pool, who was born in Madisonville, Ky., earned a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Kentucky College of Business and Economics and graduated from the university's law school.
P'Pool was first elected as Hopkins County Attorney in 2006 and again in 2010. According to his campaign website, he was the first Republican elected to a countywide office since the Civil War era in a district of nearly 70 percent registered Democrats.
Former Gov. Ernie Fletcher appointed P'Pool to serve on the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice, which advises the President of the United States and members of Congress on juvenile justice issues affecting America. In 2008, current Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, re-appointed P'Pool to the committee.
P'Pool also is a life member of the National Rifle Association.
He and his wife, Shannon, have three daughters and reside in Madisonville.
Conway, who announced in January he was seeking reelection, previously ran for Kentucky's U.S. Senate seat, which was held by Republican Sen. Jim Bunning. Bunning retired the seat.
Republican Rand Paul defeated Conway in November, but the race for Bunning's seat was a bitter one.
Paul, the son of famously libertarian U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, had attacked Conway for an ad criticizing his alleged college antics and questioning his religious faith.
Paul, following one debate with Conway, went as far as refusing to shake his opponent's hand.
But it seems the heated race hasn't deterred Conway for running for office again.
The Democrat said on his "Track Jack" blog that is he proud of what he and his staff have accomplished in the past three years, and he will continue to fight "the scourge of drugs" and will work with other agencies to redouble the state's efforts to combat methamphetamine abuse. He also said he is "extremely concerned" about consumer abuses in the for-profit college industry.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by e-mail at jessica@legalnewsline.com.