Democratic Senate candidates will face off today in an effort to keep their campaigns going until November.

Candidates David Walters of Oklahoma City and Tom Boettcher of Tulsa have campaigned in past months, with the focus on different issues ranging from character to education.

Boettcher, 58, is a graduate of the Air Force Academy and OU's College of Law. Boettcher returned to Oklahoma to start two magazines, Trade & Culture and Oklahoma Monthly. The lawyer has been running with a focus on character. Boettcher campaigned across the state asking Democrats what kind of senator they want in Washington, D.C..

Walters served as governor from 1991 to 1994. During his term, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for accepting contributions over the legal limit of $5,000. In return, seven indictments of campaign fraud were dropped.

"He's really not acknowledging the wrongdoing he did," Boettcher said. "He's blaming clerical errors for his problems."

Boettcher said health care, education and the war with Iraq are among his top issues.

"I think we need to have a loan forgiveness program for teachers going into under performing school systems," Boettcher said.

Boettcher said he supports the Democratic prescription drug plan, saying elderly citizens in New York City or Boise, Idaho, should have the same health care benefits.

As a Vietnam veteran, Boettcher said he wants public support before the United States attacks Iraq. He said that is one thing President Lyndon Johnson did wrong with Vietnam.

Walters, 50, has worked during his campaign to tell Oklahomans he's sorry for what he has done.

A 1973 graduate of OU, Walters worked for its administration before attending Harvard in 1975. In 1976, he interned with then-governor OU President David L. Boren. He went on to become an assistant provost for OU's Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City for five years. Afterwards, Walters went into private business before he ran for governor in 1986. He ran again and won the 1990 election.

"My primary goal is to promote an individual voice in the Senate," Walters said, criticizing Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., for voting party lines. "My overreaching desire is to promote an overall voice for Oklahoma."

Other issues the former governor is running on include education, health care and military policy.

"Oklahoma ranks 50th in the nation on technology access in schools and near the bottom on teachers' pay," Walters said.
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