Oklahoma City, OK – Oklahoma Democrat Andrew Rice was a divinity student and missionary, but is being called to account over social values in his Senate race against Republican incumbent Jim Inhofe.
An Inhofe ad being carried on Oklahoma television stations shows a wedding cake topped by two plastic grooms and a photo of Rice as a young man, curly haired and wearing a leather jacket.
Rice says the attacks aren't true and indicate that Inhofe will do anything to keep his job, while avoiding talking about such issues as energy and the economy.
Inhofe says news stories have noted that Rice founded a group that opposed a constitutional amendment to bar same-sex marriages before he became a state senator.
The veteran senator believes his reputation as a negative campaigner is undeserved, but says he also believes it's vital to define one's opponent.
Inhofe was elected to the Senate in 1994 after a nasty campaign in which a man wearing a Pinocchio mask was hired to heckle Inhofe's Democratic foe, ex-Congressman Dave McCurdy.
So far, Rice has raised about 2 million dollars, while Inhofe has raked in 6 million dollars.