Republican Attorney General Candidate Counters Ads

Sen. Charles Poochigian (R-Fresno) on Monday said it is "categorically false" that he would seek to outlaw abortion if elected attorney general, the Sacramento Bee reports.

In a meeting with the Bee, Poochigian said he would support the privacy provision of the state constitution. He generally opposes abortion rights except in the case of rape, incest or to save the woman's life.

Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown (D), Poochigian's opponent in the race, last week began running television advertisements saying that Poochigian was "too extreme" to be attorney general of California. The ads indicated that Poochigian opposed abortion rights, stem cell research, gun control and more stringent environmental regulations (Lin, Sacramento Bee, 9/19).

Poochigian's campaign on Monday launched a television ad campaign critical of Brown's record on crime and planned to launch a second ad on Tuesday (Bailey, Los Angeles Times, 9/19).