Both men running to be Ohio's next Attorney General stopped in the Mahoning Valley Thursday night for fundraisers.
Former Senator Mike DeWine is trying to unseat Democratic incumbent Richard Cordray.
DeWine said he's appalled by the backlog at the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. He said it takes months to get DNA evidence back to local law enforcement agencies.
"Which means that sometimes a rapist is loose for nine months, 10 months, and could have been apprehended, could have been locked up, but for the fact that the Attorney General's-run crime lab is not getting the job done," DeWine said.
But Cordray said under his watch, they've actually cut the amount of time BCI takes to process evidence using new technology, which earned him endorsements from all of Ohio's major law enforcement organizations.
"When former Senator DeWine complains about how the crime labs are doing, local law enforcement has voted and said they want Rich Cordray to be their Attorney General, and I think that answers it pretty resoundingly," Cordray said.
Like many other races this election, both men agree jobs will be a key issue when voters head to the polls.
"State government has to be pro jobs, and we have to work with small businesses," DeWine said. "One of the things I want to do as Attorney General is work with small businesses to help them to create more jobs in the state.
"Mike DeWine spent 20 years in Washington in the Congress and the Senate," Cordray pointed out. "And he aided and abetted the Wall Street greed and recklessness that has wrecked our economy."
Both candidates say they'll hit the campaign trail hard from now until election day, talking and listening to Ohioans about their concerns for protecting the public.
